Pallab Paul

Marketing On The Internet

Examines the impact of the Internet on the marketing aspects of businesses today. Looks at its future and how businesses can use its unlimited potential to their advantage. Concludes that the Internet has many risks associated with its use, but it has many benefits too.

A comparison of concurrent and retrospective verbal protocol analysis

In verbal protocol analysis, verbalization can occur either during decision making (concurrent data) or after (retrospective data). Although both methods have advantages and disadvantages, no empirical research has focused on a direct comparison. This study compared the effectiveness of concurrent and retrospective data for revealing the human decision making process. In general, the concurrent protocol analysis method outperformed the retrospective method. Not only was the number of concurrent protocol segments elicited higher than that of retrospective protocol segments, but concurrent data provided more insights into the decision-making steps occurring between stimulus introduction and the final choice outcome. However, retrospective protocols offer an interesting advantage: More statements about the final choice are provided in retrospective protocols than in concurrent protocols.

Partitioned Presentation of Multicomponent Bundle Prices: Evaluation, Choice and Underlying Processing Effects

Firms may choose to present the price of a multicomponent product bundle in partitioned (separate price for each mandatory component) or consolidated (single, equivalent price) fashion. In this article, we report on 2 experiments that examined the effects of such presentations on evaluations and choices as well as the underlying processing effects. In Experiment 1, consistent with a mental accounting analysis, a multicomponent product bundle was evaluated more favorably and chosen more often when its components were presented with partitioned (vs. consolidated) prices. The effects were, however, moderated by the component partitioned. In particular, it appeared that partitioning prices altered attention paid to the components partitioned and related product features. In Experiment 2, we found that different splits of the bundle price influenced evaluations and choices depending on how the focal product price related to that of a comparison option. These price-split effects were also moderated by the component partitioned, suggesting attention effects similar to Experiment 1. The findings show that although the effects of price partitioning were consistent with mental accounting principles, they were moderated by information processing effects related to the partitioned component.

The Impact of Cultural Values on Marketing Ethical Norms: A Study in India and the United States

This research investigates the relationship between the cultural values and the marketing ethics in two diverse countries: India and the United States. The results show that these countries are indeed culturally different, though the gaps have narrowed considerably since Hofstedes (1991) study. Furthermore, the results indicate significant differences in the interpretation of the marketing ethical norms between these two countries. The study concludes with an analysis of how different dimensions of culture influence the different facets of marketing ethical norms for both countries. Such a framework should provide valuable insights that international marketers can use to identify differences in the perception of ethical norms across nationalities and, thus, to design more effective and efficient international marketing and management strategies.

Experiential Learning in International Business Education

Abstract The purpose of this exploratory study is to examine the impact of experiential learning within international business education. We report how we introduced some innovative experiential techniques and their effectiveness, individually and on aggregate. Results indicate that incorporating such techniques in the pedagogy and course curriculum facilitates active learning for the students and augments overall learning.

An exploratory investigation of the interdependence between marketing and operations functions in service firms

Abstract To what extent are individuals performing “marketing” and “operations” activities distinct from each other in service firms? What are the key factors that determine the extent of interaction between individuals performing “marketing” and “operations” activities in a service organization? This paper addresses these questions by drawing from literature in services marketing, services operations, and organizational theory. Based on this literature, several hypotheses are proposed and empirically examined using data collected from a stratified sample of 171 service firms. The findings provide insight on (a) when marketing and operations personnel are likely to depend on each other, and (b) whether differences in interdependence arise between firms that focus on industrial clients versus individual consumers. The paper concludes with a discussion of the limitations and future research directions.

Using Information Technology for Active Learning in International Business Education

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of information technology (IT) in international business education. Results indicated that incorporating such technology in the pedagogy and course curriculum facilitated active learning for the students and augmented faculty performance. Specifically, IT helped the faculty develop innovations, assess students better and increase classroom management skills. In addition, it enhanced student-student and student-faculty communication and collaboration, and improved students’ access to information. However, contrary to popular belief, usage of technology did not improve students’ analytical and problem solving skills.

The Impact of International Travel Component of the Executive MBA Curriculum on Participant Learning

The purpose of this research is to assess the impact of the international trips on ΕΜΒΛ student learning. We have measured participants’ cognitive, affective and behavioral elements towards international business before and after the trip for two ΕΜΒΛ classes. We find that although learning has taken place in all these areas because of the trip, it has been significant mostly for cognitive and affective learning. In addition, we have tested the extent of such experiential learning as a function of the perceived difference between the USA and the destination country. Our results indicate that both Peoples Republic of China (PRC) and Vietnam have been perceived very differently from the USA, compared to the differential perception of Hong Kong (a specially administered region of the PRC) vis-à-vis the USA. However, there has not been much evidence of different levels of learning based on the destination —the impact of all destinations has been very positive on learning.

Improving Writing Through the Marketing Curriculum: A Longitudinal Study

An objectively scored assessment of basic writing skills was used systematically in several courses throughout the marketing curriculum at a private university. Results indicate that repeated testing on editing skills with feedback will lead to repeated improvements in skills and that these skills tend to be recalled for substantial periods of time. Furthermore, the objectively scored instrument was found to correlate significantly with actual writing performance. Despite the success with this method, barriers remain to wider adoption.

A New Tool for Identifying Research Standards and Evaluating Research Performance.

Much has been written about the evaluation of faculty research productivity in promotion and tenure decisions, including many articles that seek to determine the rank of various marketing journals. Yet how faculty evaluators combine journal quality, quantity, and author contribution to form judgments of a scholar’s performance is unclear. A mathematical model of faculty judgment is presented that estimates a scholar’s research productivity that is surprisingly consistent with actual faculty evaluations. The model does not replace human judgment in evaluating a scholar’s research performance, but the model enhances clarity and objectivity in the evaluation process. The method is demonstrated with marketing faculty at one university.