Robert R. Harmon

Perceived Effectiveness of Push vs. Pull Mobile Location Based Advertising

ABSTRACT The emergence of mobile phones as the leading personal communications device portends their attractiveness as a potentially lucrative media platform for marketers. This article presents initial consumer evaluations of mobile location-based advertising (LBA). LBA is a new form of marketing communication that uses location-tracking technology in mobile networks to target consumers with location-specific advertising on their cell phones. We use an experimental setting to test the effects of LBA characteristics on privacy concerns about location tracking, perceived benefits, value, and intentions to try LBA. LBA was described as a free, opt-in service from cell phone service providers. Results indicate that privacy concerns are high, and perceived benefits and value of LBA are low. LBA was relatively more effective when it becomes available upon explicit request by the consumer than when consumers are alerted to location-specific advertising or promotions for preferred product categories relevant to a specific location. Implications for marketers are discussed.

Sustainable IT services: Assessing the impact of green computing practices

Green computing refers to the practice of using computing resources more efficiently while maintaining or increasing overall performance. Sustainable IT services require the integration of green computing practices such as power management, virtualization, improving cooling technology, recycling, electronic waste disposal, and optimization of the IT infrastructure to meet sustainability requirements. Recent studies have shown that costs of power utilized by IT departments can approach 50% of the overall energy costs for an organization. While there is an expectation that green IT should lower costs and the firms impact on the environment, there has been far less attention directed at understanding the strategic benefits of sustainable IT services in terms of the creation of customer value, business value and societal value. This paper provides a review of the literature on sustainable IT, key areas of focus, and identifies a core set of principles to guide sustainable IT service design.

The Information Content of Comparative Magazine Advertisements

Abstract The existing research on comparative vs. noncomparative advertising has resulted in a great deal of conflict and confusion concerning its effectiveness. However, little attention has been directed toward examining the informational nature of the ads themselves. The current investigation examines the question of whether comparative advertisements actually contain more objective information cues than their noncomparative counterparts. The results indicated that comparative ads did indeed have greater information content than noncomparative ads. Additional informational dimensions of comparative ads are explored.

Marketing Information Systems

customer relationship management (CRM) Software applications manage the interaction of customers with an organization. They are used to increase the return on marketing efforts by enabling the understanding of the complete history of a firm’s interactions with its customers. CRM systems are able to target promotions to likely buyers, facilitate sales efforts, and deliver customer service. cybermarketing The convergence of the Internet, computers, information systems, telecommunications and the customer with the marketing process. data mart A scaled down version of a data warehouse that usually holds a subset of the entire data set in order to provide more focused and faster access to specialized data. data mining Computer-based exploration and analysis of large quantities of data in order to discover meaningful patterns and rules for the purpose of improving marketing, sales and customer service operations. data warehouse Electronic storage that is a repository where data from internal and external sources are collected, organized and stored for future analysis. enterprise resource planning (ERP): Software applications that integrate back-office systems for order processing, manufacturing, finance, accounting, and human resources. ERP functions, in turn, integrate with marketing front office activities and SCM activities. geographical information systems (GIS) Software that enables the geographic mapping of information such as the locations of customers, competitors, suppliers, sales prospects, suppliers and partners. GIS can be used for site selection, trade-area analysis, environmental analysis, sales territory design and the targeting of marketing communications. marketing automation An emerging discipline that encompasses the automation of front office marketing activities such as ecommerce, decision support, sales, customer relationship management and customer service. marketing decision support system (MDSS) A set of core applications in the MkIS that provides computer-based tools, models, and techniques to support the marketing decision making process. marketing information system (MkIS) A computerized system that provides an organized flow of information to enable and support the marketing activities of an organization. on-line analytical processing (OLAP) A family of analysis and report generating tools used to access large databases. OLAP enables partially aggregated data or full reports to be stored for fast, convenient access. supply chain management (SCM) Software applications that integrate electronic procurement, inventory management, quality management and logistics systems that link an enterprise to its suppliers

Pricing Strategies for Information Technology Services: A Value-Based Approach

While commoditization is creating opportunities for customers of information technology services, it is creating new challenges for the service providers. Pricing strategies are one of the most important challenges and decisions for today’s IT service providers. Pricing strategies for IT services have traditionally focused on covering costs, achieving desired margins and meeting the competition. These pricing schemes range from simple approaches, easily copied by competitors, to complex models with high management costs. In order to be successful in today’s competitive business world, the service providers need to define their pricing strategies by considering the customer’s perceived value from the service they receive rather than using traditional cost-based pricing strategies. This paper surveys literature on IT services pricing and presents a value-based approach to effectively price IT services.

Location-based services: models for strategy development in M-commerce

There is wide appreciation of the integral role location-based services would play in the mobile-commerce arena. The early-stage infrastructure for enabling these services is just now reaching the commercialization stage. Strategic thinking in this domain is rudimentary - there is not a clear understanding of issues associated with location data such as ownership and management of location-specific data, and consumer privacy. This paper provides an overview of location-based mobile-wireless services and related technologies, an evaluation of potential business models, and strategic implications for key entities in the value chain.

The Incidence and Characteristics of Disclaimers in Children's Television Advertising

Abstract This paper reports the results of research that updates and expands previous research on disclaimers in childrens television. The study examines the incidence, form, position, language level and variance by product category of a sample of nearly 1,000 advertisements televised during childrens programs.

The impact of intangible value on the design and marketing of new products and services: An exploratory approach

Innovators are always confronted with the issue of how to identify, measure, design, produce, communicate, and deliver the intangible qualities of their new products and services to their target markets. Intangible product attributes can have a dramatic affect on the market success of a new product or service, but the product and service design process seldom accounts for such attributes. Customers desire complete solutions. It is not sufficient to “just” offer a core product or service. Companies need to deliver products that are unique, create customer value, and build long-term relationships with customers that often depend on intangible factors. In addition to the physical product, services and intangible product attributes such as knowledge, emotion, and the customer experience are important and perhaps primary elements, in the total value equation. This paper will present a taxonomic review of the literature on intangible product and service value, identify key research issues, propose intangible-value models for future research, and explore the impacts on the new product development and marketing strategy processes.

Emerging Digital Frontiers for Service Innovation

This paper examines emerging digital frontiers for service innovation that a panel discussed at a workshop on this topic held at the 48th Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS). The speakers and participants agreed that that service systems are fundamental for service innovation and value creation. In this context, service systems are related to cognitive systems, smart service systems, and cyber-physical systems and depend on the interconnectedness among system components. The speakers and participants regarded humans as the central entity in all service systems. In addition, data, they saw personal data in particular as key to service systems. They also identified several challenges in the areas of cognitive systems, smart service systems, cyberphysical systems, and human-centered service systems. We hope this workshop report helps in some small way to cultivate the emerging service science discipline and to nurture fruitful discussions on service innovation.

Smart cities and the Internet of Things

The smart city concept represents a compelling platform for IT-enabled service innovation. It offers a view of the city where service providers use information technologies to engage with citizens to create more effective urban organizations and systems that can improve the quality of life. The emerging Internet of Things (IoT) model is foundational to the development of smart cities. Integrated cloud-oriented architecture of networks, software, sensors, human interfaces, and data analytics are essential for value creation. IoT smart-connected products and the services they provision will become essential for the future development of smart cities. This paper will explore the smart city concept and propose a strategy development model for the implementation of IoT systems in a smart city context.