Shawn T. Thelen

A guide to developing and managing a well‐integrated multi‐channel retail strategy

A well‐integrated multi‐channel format enables consumers to examine goods at one channel, buy them at another channel, and finally pick them up at a third channel. Multichannel retailing offers synergies, as it can result in an increased customer base, added revenue, and higher market share. Common characteristics of a well‐integrated retail strategy include: highly‐integrated promotions, product consistency across channels, an integrated information system that shares customer, pricing and inventory data across multiple channels, a process that enables store pick‐up for items purchased on the Web or through a catalog, and the search for multi‐channel opportunities with appropriate partners. This article provides a check‐list to enable a retailer to assess its readiness to undertake a multi‐channel strategy.

Assessing National Identity in Russia Between Generations Using the National Identity Scale

This research examines the structure of the national identity (NATID) scale in Russia. On the basis of confirmatory factor analysis results, the authors recommend modifications to strengthen the constructs application. By employing multigroup analysis, the authors assess the relationships between each NATID scale component (national heritage, cultural homogeneity, belief system, and consumer ethnocentrism) and overall national identity for invariance across two different Russian age cohorts: Soviet Russians and contemporary Russians. Soviet Russians reached their “age of socialization” when the Soviet Union was intact, whereas contemporary Russians achieved their age of socialization during the Gorbachev and Yeltsin eras. The results indicate a lack of invariance across age cohorts in the relationship between all the subconstructs, with the exception of national heritage, and overall national identity. As a result, researchers should consider that the relationship between components of the NATID scale and overall national identity is likely to vary in strength across groups in the same country. This insight is significant for firms that conduct market research, introduce products, and develop marketing strategies for selected markets.

Services offshoring: Does perceived service quality affect country‐of‐service origin preference?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to determine if consumers exhibit a country of service origin preference and to understand what service quality attributes consumers perceive to be most important when receiving services that originate from abroad. Design/methodology/approach – Respondents rated their perception of service quality, measured through an expanded version of the SERVQUAL scale considered appropriate for offshore service encounters, for various countries popular for providing offshore services to the USA. Countries, selected from the A.T. Kearney Offshore Location Attractiveness Index, represented various regions of the world, economic development, cultural distance, and near/offshore locations. Findings – Results, from both regional and national studies, indicate that US citizens possess a country of service origin (COSO) hierarchy based on perceived service quality. Communication, security, and reliability are the most important service quality attributes for consumers when receiving an off‐shored service. Significant differences were identified among countries for each of these service quality attributes. Practical implications – The findings suggest that firms need to be aware of consumer attitudes and perceptions about countries considered attractive for offshoring. The most preferred countries to consumers for services offshoring are not necessarily the ones with the highest skilled labor, lowest cost, or geographic closeness to the home country. Originality/value – The paper extends the concept of country of origin (COO) to services and expands the current knowledge base of consumer opinions about services offshoring.

Predicting negative consumer reactions to services offshoring

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine behavioral changes by consumers (i.e. changing time of day they contact a firm, requesting a domestic service provider, and ceasing doing business with the firm) when faced with being provided a service from abroad.Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected from a pre‐recruited internet panel of 394 American consumers. Hierarchical regression analysis, including demographic and psychographic variables, was employed to determine which variables were instrumental in predicting behavioral changes among consumers when being provided a service from abroad.Findings – The results suggest that American consumers are wary of services offshoring and that psychographic variables (boycott issue importance and negative word of mouth) are more instrumental than demographic variables in predicting behavioral changes by consumers.Research limitations/implications – Future research should examine consumer attitudes about services offshoring from populations in count...

Interpersonal and political trust: modeling levels of citizens' trust

– The purpose of this research is to examine whether generally trusting people are any more likely to be the same people who are also more politically trusting. In particular, the research focuses on the relationship between interpersonal trust and three political trust‐related constructs: trust of government form, political cynicism, and incumbent trust., – The intention was to model the impact of general or interpersonal trust – i.e. Rotters Interpersonal Trust scale, on three specific dimensions of political trust – i.e. “trust in government form”, “political cynicism”, and “incumbent trust”. This was achieved through a questionnaire, which was mailed to a random sample of 4,000 American households., – The structural aspects of the model reveal a significantly strong path between Rotters broad‐based interpersonal trust scale and the more specific incumbent trust measure. The model also indicates a modestly strong relationship between interpersonal trust and trust in form of government, and a weak relationship between interpersonal trust and political cynicism., – This research should prove useful to academic research, campaign managers, and political strategists in terms of reinforcing the importance of different aspects or components of trust, as well as their interrelationship, and how they might impact political strategy and campaign development.

An Introduction to the Offshore Service Ethnocentrism Construct

This study employed a series of in-depth interviews, supplemented by a literature review, to identify six elements that frame the offshore service ethnocentrism construct: security concerns, home country bias, animosity towards firms that offshore, enmity toward overseas service providers, communication/anxiety concerns, and support for legislation against offshoring. While some interviewees vehemently opposed services offshoring on all grounds, other respondents were concerned about particular aspects of the practice. Additionally, certain respondents were accepting of imported physical goods but opposed services being offshored indicating that these constructs are separate in the minds of consumers. A discussion of the findings and suggestions for future research are provided.

Evaluating and Motivating Faculty Performance: Challenges for Marketing Chairs

This paper seeks to understand (1) how chairs evaluate and motivate faculty performance and (2) how these practices challenge marketing chairs. One hundred nine chairs, a 24 percent sample response rate, completed a Web survey that addressed five research questions. First, teaching and research performance importance levels differed based on institutional mission. Second, similar methods were employed to evaluate faculty member teaching performance regardless of institutional mission. Third, most business schools/colleges require five to six articles for promotion and tenure; however, publication reputation and quality differ. Fourth, chairs allocated different priorities to faculty member service activities based on mission. Fifth, financial incentives were employed to motivate higher levels of research performance; but nonfinancial approaches were utilized for improving teaching performance and service engagement. These findings and implications for marketing chairs regarding the management of marketing academics are discussed.

A Typology of Internet Retailing

Abstract Dissimilar to non-electronic retailing, Internet retailing does not have well-developed typologies that identify underlying factors for differentiating on-line participants. Development of a typology for Internet retailers allows researchers to more fully understand channel dimensions and provide researchers with a tool for tracking and predicting the structure of Internet retailing. This study fulfills this need by combining both existing retailing attributes and unique features of eretailing to appraise a representative sample of Internet retailers. Examining 152 Internet retailing sites utilizing 32 attributes, seven underlying differentiating factors were found to identify three significant clusters of Internet retailers. These three primary types of Internet retailers are: (1) Developed Intermediaries, (2) Product Focused, and (3) Micro-Segment Focused. The strongest differentiator of sites was the size and scope of the product assortment just as with non-electronic retailing. However specific Internet retailing attributes of site service level

Education, Attitudes, and Career Intent in the Philippines

This study examines educational preparation, attitudes toward sales career and motivation to work, and career intent by business students in the Philippines. First, 26% of students, the majority of which were concentrating in other business disciplines, intended to work in an area of marketing or sales. Second, students that concentrated in marketing and intended to work in sales scored higher on an international sales career scale. Third, student responses to a motivation to work scale correlated poorly with intent to enter a sales career. However, students with the lowest academic performance as measured by grade-point average appear to be the most motivated to work. Based upon the findings, educators are presented with a discussion of the results and implications of the study.

An Empirical Examination of the Three Dichotomies of Marketing Academe Model

This paper proposes a three dichotomies model that encompasses the performance of marketing faculty members in the areas of teaching, research, and service. First, each area is discussed in regard to marketing faculty member performance. Second, employing acceptable/unacceptable performance levels for teaching, research, and service, a 2 × 2 × 2 matrix of eight cells is proposed. One hundred nine chairs, a 24 percent sample response rate, completed a Web survey that addressed four research questions. Chairs rated 930 marketing faculty as being 87 percent effective teachers, 66 percent productive researchers, and 71 percent involved service providers. Forty-seven percent of total faculty performed satisfactorily in all three performance areas. Study results confirmed different performance levels based on institutional mission (teaching, research, or balanced institution), public/private financing, and union/nonunion organizational status. These findings provide insight for marketing faculty members and offer managerial implications for business school/college administrators.