Paul R. Prabhaker

Who owns the online consumer

Powerful emerging technologies, fierce competition in the marketplace, more sophisticated consumers and the relentless drive for higher corporate earnings are at the root of online consumers’ information privacy concerns. The issue of consumer privacy could be a defining element in the battle for the ownership of online consumers. Businesses have a choice in how they respond to this matter. They can see it as a threat and simply react defensively. Or they can treat this as an opportunity and be proactive in maximizing the gains. Clearly, businesses that add value to their offerings by leveraging Internet technology in coordination with a proactive policy to preserve consumer privacy will be the success stories of the future. The goal of this research is to identify the strategic and tactical opportunities created by online consumers’ privacy concerns. Approaches to treating the privacy concerns as a source of competitive advantage are clearly discussed.

The power of technology in business selling: call centers

Changes in market conditions and trends often point to the need for changes in the marketing approaches being used. Current market trends such as fierce competition and increasingly demanding customers bring into glaring focus the shortcomings of marketing approaches and vehicles developed in and for earlier times. Corporations are being forced to re‐examine and redefine their marketplace. The need for innovative ways of reaching the customers has never been greater. Such changes call for the development and use of newer sales and marketing tools. Call centers belong to a new breed of potent technology‐driven business tools that evolved in direct response to the changes in today’s business environment. Being rooted in a technological foundation, call centers have superior attributes. They offer more flexibility and simultaneously lower the costs of meeting customer needs. They bring businesses much closer to their customers by establishing a two‐way interactive link with the marketplace. Compared to traditional marketing approaches call centers are designed and developed for the contemporary business environment. They are an ideal tool for today’s rapidly changing global markets.

Integrated marketing‐manufacturing strategies

Asserts that there are two forces at work in the business environment that are requiring organizations to rethink their business models: the power of customers and changes in technology. Suggests that companies are moving away from customer‐relationship‐management to customer‐managed relationships. Discusses how successful manufacturing businesses adapt to “high pressure” markets. These organizations leverage advanced manufacturing technologies, such as flexible tooling, computer‐aided design and computer‐integrated manufacturing control systems, to significantly improve their strategic marketing capabilities.

Marketing implications of newer manufacturing technologies

Recent advances in product design and manufacturing technologies allow for high levels of product variety at low cost, leading to economies of scope. Economies of scope allow for multiple product operations without the cost penalty of traditional economy‐of‐scale‐based technology. Examines the implications of flexible manufacturing for marketing strategy and organization. Shortening of product life cycles, re‐acceleration of product differentiation strategies and more customer involvement in the entire manufacturing‐to‐marketing process are some of the effects of advanced manufacturing technology on the marketplace.

Applying Marketing Strategies to Worksite Health Promotion Efforts

In recent years there has been a proliferation of health promotion efforts in occupational settings (Parkinson, et aI., 1982). Though the ongoing recession has stymied growth and tempered original optimism, the prospects for future development appear favorable (Golaszewski, 1981). In fact, a recent survey of national leaders in health education has predicted that by 1985-90, over half of all worksite organizations will offer some form of wellness program (Toohey & Shirreffs, 1980). Given the expanded role of the profession, the occupational nurse, in all likelihood, will playa significant role in this development. One major problem potentially limiting growth in this area is the lack of marketing skills by the typical worksite health professionals responsible for program implementation. Whether these individuals are occupational health nurses, or for that matter company physicians, their ability to develop good health promotion products is not questioned, yet their concomitant ability to market and promote these offerings is suspect. Furthermore, those in charge of health promotion efforts must be sensitive to issues of cost accountability, particularly when they must report to factions more concerned with the bottom line than the

An Analytical Comparison of Single-Stage and Two-Stage Models of Consumer Behavior

This paper addresses an interdisciplinary issue: the use of economic models of consumer behavior in the field of marketing. The main purpose of this research is to examine the implications of modelling consumer behavior utilizing two-stage utility models as against conventional single-stage utility models. The condition under which both types of models yeild the same observable behavioral pattern is studied. Based on this condition, it is then argued that two-stage models provide a better framework for explaining empirical findings in marketing.

Reliability Test of Deal-Proneness Measures: Some Preliminary Findings

Reliability of five measures of deal-proneness was investigated using facial tissue purchase records of over 200 households from the Chicago Tribune Panel. Data were classified into three groups each representing one year’s purchase history. Examination of test-retest reliability of the five measures indicated that most of the measures have a low degree of reliability. The tests of convergent validity indicated that the five measures had a high degree of similarity.