Roger Dickinson

Consumption as Voting: An Exploration of Consumer Empowerment

Purpose – Increasing numbers of consumers are expressing concerns about reports of questionable corporate practices and are responding through boycotts and buycotts. This paper compares competing theories of consumer empowerment and details findings that examine the applicability of the theory to “ethical consumer” narratives. The nature and impact of consumer empowerment in consumer decision making is then discussed.Design/methodology/approach – The study takes an exploratory approach by conducting semi‐structured in‐depth interviews with a purposive sample of ten consumers. These were recruited from an “ethical product” fair in Scotland.Findings – Results indicate that the participating consumers embraced a voting metaphor, either explicitly or implicitly, to view consumption as an ethical/political domain. Setting their choices within perceived collective consumer behaviour, they characterised their consumption as empowering. This results in an ethical consumer project that can be seen as operating wit...

Private Brands: Major Brand Perspective

Describes the problems that major brand suppliers face in the context of the growing attractiveness of private brands to the retailer and the consumer. Discusses the factors contributing to this growth. Describes the roles that private brands perform for the retailer. Offers model for the retailer′s decision whether or not to adopt a private brand. Offers supplier options. Delineates management implications.

Marketing Concept and Customer Orientation

Examines the marketing concept (MC) and its foundation of customer orientation. Proposes that the General Electric Company promulgated MC and that this followed the Second World War, before being accepted formally by academics. States that the two major concepts are: that consumers know what they want; and that consumer sovereignty prevails. Believes marketers cannot take consumers as a given nor take them for granted and neither can manufacturers or they will also suffer. Questions whether consumers are always informed about products and what exactly they require and whether firms see themselves as merely responding to the market flow. States, in conclusion, that marketing communications can help shape wants and beliefs and that marketers should aim their best efforts at this area to enable better contacts.

The use of benchmarking to enhance marketing decision making

Considers benchmarking to be an important decision making tool for marketing executives. Describes the value of benchmarking to marketers in improving decision making with respect to the “Four Ps”. Outlines steps for implementing such a program.

The Evolution of Quality in Consumer Goods

This article examines changes in the quality of consumer products over time. It begins with a historical overview of the evolution of product quality since the beginning of the twentieth century. Next, evidence that substantive quality has increased and variability has decreased is summarized. An examination of Consumer Reports data supports the hypotheses that substantive quality has increased and variability has decreased significantly in recent years. Implications for consumer behavior and marketers are discussed.

An application of the balanced scorecard in retailing

Retailers have sought measures of performance that go beyond the traditional. This article reports on the application of the balanced scorecard. We summarize efforts to go beyond traditional measures in retailing and conduct a study to test their value for a large multi-unit retail chain. The results indicate that the balanced scorecard offers a highly individualized and flexible technique for improving the performance of retailers.

Merchandise compatibility: an exploratory study of its measurement and effect on department store performance

This paper proposes two measures of merchandise compatibility and calibrates them with classification-level sales data from customer survey research at several large department store chains. Compatibility indices have possible applications in the positioning of stores, the allocation of retail space, the design of promotional displays of advertisements, and the diagnosis and rewarding of sales performance which deviates from sales targets. In an empirical model which controls for pricing differences and other standard retail-related factors (e.g. household income, charge card ownership, fashion consciousness, etc.), a merchandise compatibility index is shown to be a significant positive determinant of sales per square foot performance across thirty-nine department stores. The systematic calculation of compatibility indices will make it possible for a retailer to create important new decision tools including: (i) a new kind of market share; (ii) a rough measure of sales ‘lost’ from present customers; and (...

Determining advertising budgets for service enterprises

While numerous classifications have been proposed to differentiate goods from services, equivalent research on classification systems that could be used both for goods and services has not been explored. Today, in many instances, consumers can select either a physical good or a service to fulfill their needs. Consequently, marketers of services may gain strategic insights by investigating the similarities between goods and services as well as differences. Presents a unified taxonomy that classifies services into convenience, preference, shopping and specialty categories according to customer perceptions of perceived risk, purchase effort and involvement. For this study, 168 subjects evaluated eight services that represented the four categories. Results indicate that this classification system may be as useful in categorizing services as it has been for categorizing goods. Findings suggest that examining services from a consumer point of view offers alternative strategies for the service provider. The level of risk, purchase effort and involvement varies among types of services, not just between services and goods. Therefore, service managers are advised to examine their service from a consumer perspective to identify potential competitors and design effective marketing strategy.

The Robinson-Patman Act: An Important Conundrum

The Robinson-Patman Act is an antitrust law, ignored for the most part by the Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department. The act was passed to address abuses of power in interactions among business components within the channel of distribution. While the manifestations of power may have changed in elements of the business channel, evidence is offered that substantial power is being exercised within the channel today. Furthermore, it is clear that the Robinson-Patman Act is going to remain a law. Over time, there has been substantial business support for controls on blatant channel power and support for the maintenance of a healthy institutional environment. Protecting a healthy institutional environment is more in line with the antitrust positions taken by key European agencies. Macromarketers and other educators need to acknowledge the existence of this act, understand the logic and complexity of the act, and continue to examine its consequences.

Promotion Investments that Keep Paying Off

Considers the nature and extent of sales promotion activity. Examines promotions as a method of protecting a brand in the future, various promotion techniques, and how to prepare for the growth of a promotion. Surmises that the trends that have made promotion so prevalent will continue, so brands that utilize franchise and image‐building promotions will reap rewards in the future.