Norm Borin

Market Power and Performance: A Cross-Industry Analysis of Manufacturers and Retailers

Abstract Two recent studies of manufacturer and retailer profitability in the food industry have raised questions about whether the widely cited, but empirically untested, shift of power from manufacturers to retailers has really occurred. Has the marketing community been operating under a misconception or are these studies flawed? This paper uses more complete measures of exercised and potential market power and a broader sample of industries and retail classes to address this critical question. Not only do our measures have strong theoretical grounding in the industrial organization, finance and accounting literature, they incorporate in them the impact of actions that have been commonly cited as illustrations of a power shift. Our analysis of 14 consumer good industries shows that only a few of them exhibit a shift in market power towards retailers. Further this apparent shift is highly influenced by a small number of retailers within a single retail class.

A sensitivity analysis of retailer shelf management models

Abstract A shelf management model was developed to assist retailers with the decision of which products to stock and how much space to allocate to those products. Due to the non-linearities in the formulation a closed form solution is not possible. Borin, et al. develop a search heuristic based on simulated annealing and compare the solution against a known optimum. A barrier to the use of such models is the fact that managers typically do not have access to error-free estimates of the parameters required for the model construction (shelf elasticities, search loyalty, and consumer preferences). In this article we analyze the degree of error that may be introduced into estimates of the parameters before the model yields assortments and shelf allocations that are inferior to those produced by the merchandising rule of thumb, share-of-shelf = share-of-sales. The results indicate that judgmental estimates of parameters can vary by as much as 50 percent and still make application of the model useful.

Integrating Sustainability into the Marketing Curriculum: Learning Activities that Facilitate Sustainable Marketing Practices.

In response to political, social, and competitive forces, many firms are developing sustainable marketing strategies. Marketing educators can play an important role in assisting these firms by developing curricula that build the knowledge and skills required to enable marketing graduates to contribute to sustainable marketing efforts. Marketing graduates must not only understand but also be equipped to apply a sustainable marketing thought process to the challenges businesses face today. The authors assist in this goal by (a) presenting key learning objectives in the area of sustainable marketing, (b) describing learning activities that will help students achieve the learning objectives identified, and (c) providing resources that not only support the learning objectives but also connect them to traditional marketing concepts, as well as to concepts from other disciplines.

The Role of Marketing in an Integrative Business Curriculum

In recent years, many business schools have developed integrative programs in response to a number of internal and external factors. Although the exact nature of these programs varies, a significant common element is a desire to impart to students appreciation, knowledge, and skills for cross-functional business situations. This article focuses on marketing’s key role. With its rich history on drawing from and contributing to other academic disciplines, marketing is in a powerful position to serve an important role in guiding and binding together other areas in an integrated program. The article provides guidance and background to marketing academicians, which allows them to add integrated components to existing classes and/or programs or begin the design of an integrated program.

Implementing Assessment in an Outcome-Based Marketing Curriculum

This article describes the development and implementation of assessment in a new outcome-based marketing curriculum that was developed using a zero-based approach. Outcomes for the marketing curriculum were specified at the program, department, course, and lesson levels. Direct embedded assessments as well as indirect assessment methods were used to gauge student achievement. Results indicate that on both self-reported (indirect) and direct, as well as nonembedded and embedded, assessments significant value-added learning occurred. We chronicle the stages in developing and implementing an assessment plan and reflect on our experiences in the process to provide a roadmap for other marketing departments that also face the transition from teaching to learning.

A Replicable, Zero-Based Model for Marketing Curriculum Innovation

As university curriculums inevitably change, their evolution typically occurs through a series of minor incremental adjustments to individual courses that cause the curriculum to lose strategic consistency and focus. This article demonstrates a zero-based approach to marketing curriculum innovation. The authors describe forces of change that led them to completely redesign their marketing curriculum, and they chronicle a replicable process that can be used to develop and launch an extensive transformation of an existing program that is focused yet adaptive. The process includes faculty commitment, consensus, collaboration, and compromise; stake-holder input; points of distinction; unifying themes; intended learning outcomes; instructional design; approval; a transition plan; launch; and evaluation and continuous improvement. The authors believe that departments of any size can implement a similar redesign process to develop a curriculum that is strategically consistent with the departments core competencies and focused on learning outcomes that are fundamental to any marketing career.

The sustainable corporation: lessons from Avatar

This article uses the fictitious company RDA from the movie Avatar as a textbook case of corporate non-sustainability. We provide a list of mistakes RDA made and provide parallel corporate examples in our own society in the areas of stakeholder analysis, corporate governance and systems thinking using the triple bottom line. For each area we present a framework that companies could use to operate in a more sustainable manner.