Mukesh Bhargava

The Role of Affect in Attitude Formation: A Classical Conditioning Approach

This study investigates the role of affect in attitude formation. Two experiments, using established conditioning procedures, assessed the impact of affect on attitude formation. The results of Experiment 1 indicate that affect can influence attitudes even in the absence of product beliefs. The results of Experiment 2 suggest that affect plays as important or more important a role than the belief mechanism in attitude formation, depending on the number of repetitions. Implications of the results for understanding the role of affect in advertising are discussed.

Reconciling diverse measures of performance: A conceptual framework and test of a methodology

Abstract This paper examines the multidimensional aspects of performance measures specifically studying variables related to “marketing effectiveness.” A measurement model for assessing the validity and reliability of performance measures is developed. The framework provides a conceptual platform from which further empirical and theoretical development may proceed. This is illustrated through an empirical analysis which addresses the issues associated with resolving conflicts among performance measures. The empirical results show the importance of carefully assessing the performance measures chosen. The results confirm earlier findings that the dimensions of performance can be mutually exclusive, leading to confusion as to the appropriate means of resolving tradeoffs. Data Envelopment Analysis based on the performance measures allows the creation of a performance frontier which inherently recognizes the tradeoffs. This method is used to further validate the characteristics of the performance measures chosen. The model incorporating profitability, market growth and adaptability was the most consistent in both predictive and concurrent validity checks.

Work Alienation of Marketing Employees: Influence of Task, Supervisory, and Organizational Structure Factors:

This study presents an integrated work alienation model that includes a number of relevant exogenous antecedents from the task, supervisory, and organizational structure domains. The study hypothesizes that these antecedents influence work alienation of marketing employees both directly and indirectly because of the effects they have on employees’ role stress and commitment to the organization. Simultaneous inclusion of relevant antecedents enables the study to establish the relative importance of each antecedent for work alienation of employees. The study also includes a comparative evaluation of the applicability of the proposed model for subgroups of employees stratified by gender.

Measuring retail productivity: what really matters?

Abstract Retail productivity measurement has commonly used ratios of outputs, such as sales, and input factors like capital and labour to measure different facets of productivity. However, these store-specific ratios are also likely to be influenced by other context-specific factors affecting the reliability and validity of these measures. This paper contributes to the research on productivity measurement by developing and testing a composite set of measures for retail productivity including exogenous factors. The empirical work is based on pharmacists in New Zealand (354) and Australia (336) using an instrument that is pretested in Canada (74) for both its external and internal validity. The data were analysed using LISREL to create comprehensive models of the relationships between and among the identified productivity factors. The study revealed that some competitive factors and demand-related factors play a significant role in the productivity of the stores in both New Zealand and Australia. This implies that correct measurement of retail productivity must include exogenous factors to be accurate. The theoretical and managerial implications of these results are discussed.

Explaining Context Effects on Choice Using a Model of Comparative Judgment

Context effects refer to the shifts in shares when another alternative is introduced in the choice set. The alternative can be asymmetrically dominated, asymmetrically dominating, totally dominated, or totally dominating. We developed a theoretically derived model based on the shifts in attribute valuation as a potential explanation for all context effects. First, the model is tested using data from previously published studies. As predicted, the results showed a high correlation between shifts in valuation and changes in the choice shares. The model is also tested using 2 studies that extend the design of the choice sets to include better alternatives in a search context and the removal of an alternative. The strong relation justifies the case for comparative valuation as an underlying mechanism for context effects. Assuming this valuation, the article illustrates how the framework can be used to develop new product strategies taking into account the values of the unchosen alternatives.

Predicting bankruptcy in the retail sector: an examination of the validity of key measures of performance

Abstract The large number and size of bankruptcies in the increasingly competitive retail environment necessitates a review of our ability to signal financial distress in retailing companies. The paper shows that it is still possible to predict upcoming retail failure up to six years in advance. Thus bankruptcy prediction models can be an important diagnoostic tool for managers, wishing to identify problems early and take corrective action. Our study attempts to reconcile the contradictions in the extant literature concerning the reliability of different measures used to predict bankruptcy for the retail sector. Past problems in the ability to predict financial distress in retailers using general models can be explained by capitalizing lease and rental payments made by lessees. Once the tendency of retailers to rent rather than own is accommodated, models predict successfully. Contrary to popular belief, variables that are purported to be particularly relevant to retailers such as cash flow and inventory turnover do not improve the warning signals available from conventional bankruptcy models.

An examination of temporal patterns in meta-analysis

Meta-analysis has become increasingly popular as a technique for generalizing and exploring the moderators of a relationship between variables. However, few meta-analyses have explored the possibility that the relationships being studied change over time. In this study, we explore the possible theoretical reasons to expect a temporal change in a relationship under study. In addition, some methodological issues related to detecting these effects are discussed and illustrated using a sample of past studies. The paper shows that the temporal effects are easy to incorporate in the analytical plan and can add to the overall utility of meta-analysis.

Web-Based Consumer Decision Tools: Motivations and Constraints

This paper examines the motivations for the construction of consumer decision tools (CDTs). CDTs are Web-based decision support systems aimed at improving the quality of consumer decisions. CDTs are useful for high involvement choices, such as car or university programme selection, where the consumer is strongly affected by the outcome. Firms will supply CDTs only when they desire informed, mutually beneficial exchanges with customers. Benefits to consumers include improved decisions and the reduced cost of future decision making. Benefits to firms include insight into consumer choice processes, customer loyalty and reduced marketing costs. We describe a CDT that we developed and tested. The results from our initial work suggest that CDTs are technically feasible, and have value for both consumers and firms.

Advertising productivity: developing an agenda for research

Despite its importance, research on advertising productivity is limited and fragmentary. This article consolidates the major research streams on different facets of productivity. This consolidation allows us to identify and prioritise various issues that need to be addressed, and thereby develop a comprehensive research agenda for this area.

Do Our Students Want Values Programs

Values programs are easier to justify if students actually want to participate in them. We analyzed data from the 2001 Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP) survey administered at Oakland University. About a third of the students thought that developing a meaningful philosophy of life was important. These students were somewhat more socially active, focused on individual intellectual pursuits, politically liberal, and spiritual than other students. They thought that individuals can change society. Students interested in philosophy of life don’t appear to be more religious than other students. On average, black students were more interested in developing a meaningful philosophy of life than white students.