Ronald Paul Hill

Managing Across Generations in the 21st Century Important Lessons from the Ivory Trenches

The baby boomers, who now dominate the provision of higher education, have watched Generation Y or the echo boomers begin to mature and develop within the university system. Experiences with this cohort have given university faculty and managers insights about important generational differences and similarities that may help them operate more effectively in the 21st century. Five of the most essential insights are summarized in this article: only your parents love you unconditionally, being tough depends on who is in the room at the time, understanding the ability-performance nexus, finding passion in your work, and managing multiple roles/multiple selves.

Impoverished Consumers and Consumer Behavior: The Case of AFDC Mothers

This article presents three dimensions of impoverished-consumer behavior-exchange restrictions, the consequences of these restrictions, and coping strategies-in a model developed through literature review. The consumer environment of welfare mothers is then employed to examine the perspective of this model. The article closes with suggestions for welfare reform and a discussion of the broader implications for consumer behavior.

Enhancing the consumer-product relationship: Lessons from the QVC home shopping channel

Abstract In these days of mature markets and ever-increasing competition, marketers must work harder than ever to make successes of their products. A clear, consistent brand image and a long-term relationship with the consumer are critical to a marketers success in todays marketplace. Integrated marketing communications (IMC) is a coherent, consumer-oriented alternative to more traditional, product-focused approaches to marketing. A comerstone of IMC is the establishment and long-term maintenance of a mutually beneficial consumer-marketer relationship. One organization that has proven especially effective at such relationships is the QVC television home shopping channel. This paper presents a case study of QVC, in which taped interactions between QVC program hosts and viewers are examined. The interactions show that hosts systematically form parasocial relationships with viewers and use these relationships to encourage viewers to purchase products from QVC. The article closes with a discussion of implications for other marketers who wish to establish such relationships with consumers.

How can retailers enhance accessibility: giving consumers with visual impairments a voice in the marketplace

Abstract Marketplace accessibility is a global issue; one that is important to nations, businesses (large and small), and consumers throughout the world. This paper explores visually impaired consumers’ perceptions of marketplace accessibility in the United States, since the enactment of the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990. It reveals what has been accomplished thus far, and what needs to be done. The paper begins with a brief description of different types of visual impairments and is followed by an explanation of marketplace accessibility, including Title III regulations of the ADA and previous studies examining the issue. A qualitative study, which explores accessibility experiences of consumers with visual impairments, is then described and results are presented. The paper concludes by presenting a set of managerial guidelines that are believed to enhance the quality of face-to-face interactions between service personnel and/or salespeople and their customers with visual impairments.

Surviving in a material world: Evidence from ethnographic consumer research on people in poverty

This article examines the consumer “cycle of poverty” using a decade of ethnographic research on the material lives of the poor. For the purposes of this article, composite portraits of six different poverty subpopulations were developed in an attempt to capture the lived experience of such individuals. These composites were written as six short stories that represent the source of ethnographic evidence used to inform five thematic categories. Implications for ethnographers, the broader consumer research community, and public policy makers are provided in the close.

Compassionate Love, Agape, and Altruism: A New Framework for Understanding and Supporting Impoverished Consumers:

This article advances the premise that other-centered love is a resource that may improve the lives of impoverished consumers. It opens with a brief description of compassionate love, agape, and altruism and their potential relationship to helping behaviors. Data description and analysis are next, followed by ethnographic evidence that support the love-as-resource perspective. This support is distilled into five interrelated themes: loss/lack of familial/friendship love, lack of other-centered love or disdain, reactions to the loss/lack of love, expressions of other-centered love, and consumption adequacy. The article closes with implications for other-centered love as a paradigm to further the consumption adequacy of the poor on a global basis.

Salesperson response to loss of a major account: A qualitative analysis

Abstract This article fills a gap in the sales literature by focusing on an acute stressor, loss of a major sale or account, and by providing a framework to study sales relationship dissolution as a negative life event. Data were obtained through 16 in-depth interviews with salespersons from a variety of industries. All informants described themselves as generally successful while having lost a major account or new business in the recent past. The article is composed of the following sections: (1) a summary of relevant research from stress, sales management, and relationship literatures; (2) an explanation of the methodology; and (3) a summary of themes and metaphors evoked by salespersons, communicating the experience of loss as a negative life stressor.

Gender Inequity and Quality of Life: A Macromarketing Perspective

Consumption inequities have been explored within the consumer behavior and public policy literatures in marketing, but few investigations within these domains have examined their global dimensions. To help fill this gap, the authors investigate the gender aspects of consumer inequality worldwide using measures of quality of life at the societal level. After a brief introduction, a discussion of the theoretical foundation of our work and the measures used to examine inequities between men and women are presented. Analyses and results come next, followed by global policy recommendations and future research directions.

The role of information technology and systems in reverse logistics: a case study

Reverse logistics is a process whereby a manufacturer accepts products from consumers for possible remanufacturing, recycling, reuse or disposal. Recovery of used products is receiving increased attention due to growing environmental concerns. Though studies have shown that reverse logistics practices can result in substantial cost savings for companies, there has been some reluctance implementing these methods. Our research shows that information systems and information technology may play an important role in the support of this process. To this end, we address several questions related to reverse logistics: What are the drivers – internal, external, and legislative – that impact reverse logistics? What exemplar companies have saved money by implementing reverse logistics programs? What is the role of information technology within reverse logistics? Our paper will explore this area through a case study of a company that is involved in the practice of reverse logistics. We hope that this application will shed light on the operations of a recycling outfit and the role of information technology and systems within this reverse chain. For the purpose of this paper, the company will be referred to as XYZ.

The Loss of Animal Companions: A Humanistic and Consumption Perspective

This research project examines the dispossession of animal companions by loving owners. The results of two data collections reveal six highly interrelated themes: Love and Friendship, Joy in Life versus Sorrow in Death, Pets as Family Members, Vividness of Unexpected Death, Good-bye Rituals, and Return to Nature. The article closes with a brief discussion of the implications of these themes for service providers and for the education of potential pet owners.