Leigh McAlister

Variety seeking behavior : an interdisciplinary review

A taxonomy of varied behavior is offered to structure research findings pertaining to the various phenomena termed “variety seeking.” The literature is reviewed within that framework. Seemingly disparate research traditions, one viewing the phenomenon as inexplicable, the other attempting explanation, are shown to be converging. A model encompassing current research is proposed and its parameters scrutinized.

Consumers' perceptions of the assortment offered in a grocery category : the impact of item reduction

Grocery retailers have been informed that, to remain competitive, they must reduce the number of stockkeeping units (SKUs) offered, in line with consumer demand, or, in other words, adopt “Efficien...

Promotion Signal: Proxy for a Price Cut?

Evidence suggests that some consumers react to promotion signals without considering relative price information. We adopt Petty and Cacioppos Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) to explain this behavior in terms of the ELMs peripheral route to pursuasion in which the promotion signal is taken as a cue for a price cut. Experimental results show that low need for cognition individuals react to the simple presence of a promotion signal whether or not the price of the promoted brand is reduced, but that high need for cognition individuals react to a promotion signal only when it is accompanied by a substantive price reduction. Copyright 1990 by the University of Chicago.

A dynamic attribute satiation model of variety seeking behavior

This paper presents a model of individual consumer choice for separate choice occasions. Contrary to the notion that each choice is essentially independent of its predecessors, dependence is proposed as the key to variety-seeking behavior. As an individuals consumption history evolves, the pattern of attribute accumulations changes, leading to preference for items rich in different attributes at different points in time. The model is operationalized using soft drink consumption diaries, and predicts choices better than a model that ignores choice dependence.

Linking Brand Equity to Customer Equity

Customer equity and brand equity are two of the most important topics to academic researchers and practitioners. As part of the 2005 Thought Leaders Conference held at the University of Connecticut, the authors were asked to review what was known and not known about the relationship between brand equity and customer equity. During their discussions, it became clear that whereas two distinct research streams have emerged and there are distinct differences, the concepts are also highly related. It also became clear that whereas the focus of both brand equity and customer equity research has been on the end consumer, there is a need for research to understand the intermediary’s perspective (e.g., the value of the brand to the retailer and the value of a customer to a retailer) and the consumer’s perspective (e.g., the value of the brand versus the value of the retailer). This article represents general conclusions from the authors’ discussion and suggests a modeling approach that could be used to investigate linkages between brand equity and customer equity as well as a modeling approach to determine the value of the manufacturer to a retailer.

Marketing Renaissance: Opportunities and Imperatives for Improving Marketing Thought, Practice, and Infrastructure

My three-year term as editor of Journal of Marketing concludes with the October 2005 issue. On the basis of my interactions with various people in the marketing community, I believe that marketing science and practice are in transition, bringing change to the content and boundaries of the discipline. Thus, I invited some distinguished scholars to contribute short essays on the current challenges, opportunities, and imperatives for improving marketing thought and practice. Each author chose his or her topic and themes. However, in a collegial process, the authors read and commented on one anothers essays, after which each author had an opportunity to revise his or her essay. The result is a thoughtful and constructive set of essays that are related to one another in interesting ways and that should be read together. I have grouped the essays as follows: •What is the domain of marketing? This question is addressed in four essays by Stephen W. Brown, Frederick E. Webster Jr., Jan-Benedict E.M. Steenkamp, and William L. Wilkie. •How has the marketing landscape (i.e., content) changed? This question is addressed in two essays, one coauthored by Jagdish N. Sheth and Rajendra S. Sisodia and the other by Roger A. Kerin. •How should marketing academics engage in research, teaching, and professional activities? This question is addressed in five essays by Debbie MacInnis; Leigh McAlister; Jagmohan S. Raju; Ronald J. Bauerly, Don T. Johnson, and Mandeep Singh; and Richard Staelin. Another interesting way to think about the essays, as Jan-Benedict E.M. Steenkamp suggests, is to group the essays according to whether they address issues of content, publishing, or impact (see Table 1). These 11 essays strike a common theme: They urge marketers—both scientists and practitioners—to expand their horizontal vision. What do I mean by horizontal vision? In The Great Influenza, Barry (2004) describes the enormous strides that were made in medical science early in the twentieth century. His depiction of William Welch, an extremely influential scientist who did not (as a laboratory researcher) generate important findings, includes a characterization of the “genius” that produces major scientific achievements. The research he did was first-rate. But it was only first-rate—thorough, rounded, and even irrefutable, but not deep enough or provocative enough or profound enough to set himself or others down new paths, to show the world in a new way, to make sense out of great mysteries…. To do this requires a certain kind of genius, one that probes vertically and sees horizontally. Horizontal vision allows someone to assimilate and weave together seemingly unconnected bits of information. It allows an investigator to see what others do not see and to make leaps of connectivity and creativity. Probing vertically, going deeper and deeper into something, creates new information. (p. 60) At my request, each author has provided thoughtful and concrete suggestions for how marketing academics and practitioners, both individually and collectively (through our institutions), can work to improve our field. Many of their suggestions urge people and institutions to expand their horizontal vision and make connections, thereby fulfilling their potential to advance the science and practice of marketing. In his essay, Richard Staelin writes (p. 22), “I believe that it is possible to influence directly the generation and adoption of new ideas.” I agree. I ask the reader to think about the ideas in these essays and to act on them. Through our actions, we shape our future. —Ruth N. Bolton

Do coupon expiration dates affect consumer behavior

Expiration dates are used by couponers to limit their financial liability temporally. Traditional wisdom assumes that coupon redemptions are greatest in the period immediately following the coupon ...

A Dynamic Model of the Effect of Online Communications on Firm Sales

Interpersonal communications have long been recognized as an influential source of information for consumers. Internet-based media have facilitated information exchange among firms and consumers, as well as observability and measurement of such exchanges. However, much of the research addressing online communication focuses on ratings collected from online forums. In this paper, we look beyond ratings to a more comprehensive view of online communications. We consider the sales effect of the volume of positive, negative, and neutral online communications captured by Web crawler technology and classified by automated sentiment analysis. Our modeling approach captures two key features of our data, dynamics and endogeneity. In terms of dynamics, we model daily measures of online communications about a firm and its products as contributing to a latent demand-generating stock variable. To account for the endogeneity, we extend the latent instrumental variable technique to account for dynamic endogenous regressors. Our results demonstrate a significant effect of positive, negative, and neutral online communications on daily sales performance. Failure to account for endogeneity results in a severe attenuation of the estimated effects. From a managerial perspective, we demonstrate the importance of accounting for communication valence as well as the impact of shocks to positive, negative, and neutral online communications.

Sophistication in Research in Marketing

Over the years, the level of analytical rigor has risen in articles published in marketing academic journals. While, ceteris paribus, rigor is desirable, there is a growing sense that rigor has become a, if not the, goal for research in marketing. Consequently, other desirable characteristics, such as relevance, communicability, and simplicity, have been downplayed, to the detriment of the field of marketing. The authors explore this imbalance, setting forth the consequences of overemphasis on rigor for (1) the manuscript review process, (2) PhD programs, (3) hiring, and (4) the tenure and promotion review process. Two surveys of “successful” authors provide empirical support for the conjectures put forth. The authors then identify the causes for this trend and propose some directions to reestablish a better balance between rigor and relevance.

Stock Market Reaction to Unexpected Growth in Marketing Expenditure: Negative for Sales Force, Contingent on Spending Level for Advertising.

Because firms do not publicly report marketing expenditures, most studies of the link between firm value and marketing consider advertising (which is publicly reported for many firms) a proxy for marketing. The authors extend those studies in two ways. First, they broaden the proxy for marketing by considering both advertising and sales force. Second, they offer an explanation for the fact that some studies linking advertising to firm value find a positive relationship, whereas others find a negative relationship. The accounting literature suggests that the link to firm value for both unexpected growth in sales force expenditures and unexpected growth in advertising expenditures should be negative. The authors confirm the hypothesized accounting relationship for sales force expenditures but find a contingent relationship for advertising expenditures. Firm value and unexpected growth in advertising expenditures are negatively related for firms that advertise below the advertising response threshold, but they are positively related for firms that advertise above that threshold. Perhaps because this contingent relationship is difficult for analysts to learn through observation of the stock market, analysts ignore value-relevant advertising expenditure information when they forecast firm value.