Neil C. Herndon

Consumer Involvement With the Product and the Nature of Brand Loyalty

This study was concerned with the possibility of an association between consumer involvement with the product and two different behavioral phenomena—true brand loyalty and spurious brand loyalty. The study utilized products with which respondents generally reported moderate levels of involvement. Evidence was found that a more favorable brand attitude and a higher level of commitment to the brand are more likely when the level of involvement with the product is above average. True brand loyalty also is more likely under conditions of above-average involvement. Conversely, below-average involvement, less favorable brand attitude, and lower commitment tend to be associated with one another and with a lack of true loyalty. Consequently, brand concentration data in cases of below-average involvement generally suggest spurious, rather than true, brand loyalty. The potential generalizability of the relationships also was examined through replications in two different parts of the world. Analyses of the data from Hong Kong and the United States both support the proposed relationships.

Deterrence or Conflict Spiral Effect? Exercise of Coercive Power in Marketing Channels: Evidence from China

Purpose: The article aims to test the appropriateness of deterrence and conflict spiral models in marketing channels. Both models have been alternatively used as bases to explain firms’ power-related behaviors in marketing channels. However, the issue of the appropriateness of such an application in various contexts has not yet been addressed. Methodology/approach: The authors develop the hypotheses based on deterrence theory and their alternatives based on conflict spiral theory. They gather data from 204 sales representatives of suppliers in China and use linear regression analysis to test their hypotheses versus alternatives. Empirical findings: The data analysis offers supportive evidence for the deterrence logic but with unexpected results. By elaborating on the empirical results, the original assumption of deterrence theory, and the nature of interfirm relationship in marketing channels, the authors modify the deterrence model for research on power related-behaviors in the given context. The analysis implies a possible explanation for inconsistent findings in the literature regarding exercises of coercive power. Originality/value/contribution: This article proposes a revised deterrence model that can interpret the empirical results with a consistent logic and better predict power-related behaviors in marketing channels. Research limitations/implications: The research results may lack generalizability with respect to channel type and culture. It does not directly test the cognitive mechanisms that mediate the impact of power on its exercise. Researchers are encouraged to directly test the mediating constructs in other channels or countries. Practical implications: The article includes some insights and implications for managers in understanding power structure and implementing influence strategies in business-to-business marketing.

Research Fraud and the Publish or Perish World of Academia

Research fraud, more politely termed questionable research practices, has been receiving increasing attention in the academic literature and in journal editorial circles. The Journal of Marketing Channels (JMC) Editorial Review Board and originality checking software (i.e., CrossCheck) have found several instances of questionable research practices ranging from submitting a paper for publication already published elsewhere (i.e., self-plagiarism) to a paper whose front end had many problems followed by a discussion and conclusions section that was state of the art. CrossCheck flagged the discussions and conclusions section as being verbatim from an unusual source: an article already published by completely different authors (i.e., plagiarism).1 Plagiarism and self-plagiarism are particularly troubling questionable research practices for journal editors as we have a responsibility to strictly adhere to applicable copyright laws of the United States, especially as articles published elsewhere and then republished in whole or in part a second time in a different journal are likely to violate copyright restrictions associated with the prior publication. Editors, reviewers, and authors simply must not knowingly violate the publisher’s guidelines regarding the exclusivity and proprietary nature of other authors’ intellectual contributions. Consequently, every submission and revision at JMC is checked for originality with the CrossCheck software. Although I do not want this editorial to become a “how-to” instruction manual on publishing misconduct, it is important that those of us in the academic community who submit papers to journals, review these submissions, publish them, study them, teach their content to classes, and use their findings in our own work or to influence public policy become fully aware of these issues.

The Impact of Buyers on Salespersons' Ethical Judgment and Behavioral Intention to Practice Gray Marketing

ABSTRACT The purpose of this article is to explore how the behavior of buyers in business-to-business markets influences the behavior of salespeople toward gray marketing practices. With the salespersons as participants, the authors examine the impact of two buyers’ factors—buyers’ asking for gray benefits and order size—on salespersons’ ethical evaluation of, and behavioral intention to practice, gray marketing. We found that buyers’ asking for gray benefits and offering bigger orders have negative impacts on salespersons’ perceived unethicalness of gray marketing, which in turn increases their behavioral intention to practice gray marketing. We also found that these two factors have a direct and indirect impact on salespersons’ behavioral intention to practice gray marketing.

Inquiry and Review of Dependence in Marketing Channels: An Economics of Exchange Approach

This article extends the economics of exchange for bilateral monopolists to more general situations in marketing channels, that is, exchange between two members with alternatives, by incorporating insights drawn from power-dependence theory, interdependence theory, and the concept of switching cost. It proposes a framework of three factors of channel dependence and reviews the literature on the operationalizations of channel dependence based on the framework. This study concludes that the approaches used by channels researchers, explicitly or implicitly, more or less, capture the three factors of channel dependence. It also notices weaknesses in some approaches, including missing important aspects of a factor, possibilities of inflating or deflating channel dependence, and falling short of being a one-dimensional construct. The article finally draws conclusions and reports implications from the findings of this inquiry and literature review.

Fresh and Original: Submit Unpublished Marketing Channels Papers Only, Please!

In the previous editorial (Volume 20, Numbers 3–4, 2013), Founding Editor Bert Rosenbloom and I considered the aims and scope of the Journal of Marketing Channels (JMC) in some detail. In this editorial, I’d like to address what is an appropriate submission to JMC given that the paper does meet the aims and scope of the journal. However, as you will see, while I cannot address every possible situation that an author might face when considering sending a paper to JMC for review and certainly cannot do so from a legal perspective, as a minimum from an editorial perspective, papers submitted to JMC must not be subject to any previous copyright restrictions and must not contain any materials subject to copyright for which a written release has not been obtained. It must not have been published or accepted for publication, must not appear or have appeared online in full, must not be under review elsewhere, and must not involve an actual or potential conflict of interest. In rare circumstances, an article may be published a second time elsewhere with a note to that effect on, let’s say, the first page of the most recent article (since one can’t go back in print and change what is already published), but this is something unusual such as a reprinted classic article in a special issue. And it still involves securing copyright permissions unless it is the same journal/ same publisher, and so on. The JMC editor must not violate the integrity of the publisher’s submission guidelines relative to the exclusivity and proprietary nature of intellectual contributions. Moreover, the editor has a moral and fiduciary obligation to strictly comply with U.S. copyright laws, such that JMC reviewers are also asked to note possible duplication or plagiarism. In my view, if a paper has been presented at a conference as a presentation and only the abstract has been published, it is acceptable to submit it to JMC as an unpublished paper so long as this is noted by the author(s) in the cover letter to the editor. However, with the exception of a brief abstract in a conference proceedings, if it is published, it is published, and not eligible for review at JMC. Regarding the publication of working papers in JMC, most scholars recognize that it is likely to be a good idea to have advice from others on a complex and, perhaps, difficult study. I usually send mine to one or two especially expert people whom I know and ask for their help. This is a closed loop, as are in-house publications with very limited distribution within, say, a university academic department. However, once a paper becomes freely available to the public or fellow academicians, in print or online, I consider it to have been published. That includes a working paper series, especially one that is widely available, such as those online. Even if that paper is later removed from public access, it has been substantially published first there and so should not be submitted to JMC. While fellow channels scholars do not need to be reminded of the importance of citing sources in the text and reference section of a paper or obtaining written permission for direct reproduction of figures, tables, and lengthy excerpts they wish to include in their manuscript from other sources, they may not be aware of the need to seek permission in the case of derivative reproduction where the scholar creates a new figure or table that substantially uses or incorporates previously copyrighted material. Similarly, some well-intentioned scholars may not be aware that materials that can be downloaded freely on the Internet may not have been posted on the web

Effects of Customer Gender and Mode of Dress on Service Response Received in Retail Establishments

The field investigation reported in this article addresses whether the gender of the shopper has an effect on the service response received in retail establishments, as evidenced by both the speed and the type of service rendered by the salesperson. The shoppers mode of dress, the gender of the salesperson, and the type of store are also considered as contributory factors. Results of the study reveal that shopper gender, mode of dress, and store type are related to service response indicants. However, the relationships are more complex than were expected based on prior research and theorizing. Customer–salesperson gender congruence was not found to influence service response. Implications of the study for retail management are discussed and research directions provided.

The Chinese Elephant and the Blind Men: Understanding the Channels Environment in China

The story of the elephant and the blind men in its many cultural variations is a very old parable that seems to apply to observers of the People’s Republic of China (PRC or China, hereafter). Like the blind man who touched the leg and decided the elephant was like a pillar and another who touched the tail and decided the elephant was like a rope, there are many versions of what constitutes the ‘‘real’’ China. Some political observers touch China and decide she is a currency manipulator that must revalue the yuan to maintain fair trade. Another sees a repressive regime full of human rights abuses that must be stopped by the installation of a Western-style legal system. Others see the Great Firewall blocking Internet access and a fully functional propaganda system that does not present objective domestic and world events, both of which must be dismantled immediately to allow an unhindered free-flow of information to the Chinese people. Each observer focused on a subject of special importance to them and comments without careful consideration of the whole. Academic researchers often conduct studies here based on a 2-week visit during which they teach a course at a university in Beijing or Shanghai. These foreign visitors find a publishable cross-cultural topic of some interest to them and look around for confirmation that a study might be done. They may locate a friendly local professor who will use his or her graduate assistant to collect data, or they may use a commercial research firm licensed to conduct research in China. Then they return to their home country, often