Stewart Adam

A comparison of online and postal data collection methods in marketing research

The widespread acceptance of the use of online techniques in market research necessitates appreciation of the relative advantages and disadvantages of these techniques over more traditional research methods. This paper reports on a study which directly compares online and postal data collection methods using the same survey instrument on two samples drawn from the same population of football club subscribers. The results confirm that the online and postal respondents are demographically different. Online data collection is shown to be less expensive per respondent and that data collection is faster, however, an overall lower response level is achieved relative to the postal data collection method. Of greater importance, though, are the findings that respondents seem to answer questions differently online than they do via postal methods. The conclusion here is that online data collection should not be treated as a direct substitute for postal data collection in every instance.

E‐marketing in perspective: a three country comparison of business use of the Internet

Compares business use of the Internet (Net) and World Wide Web (Web) across Australia, New Zealand and the UK. The reported inter‐country comparison involves studies conducted by the authors in a similar timeframe and using similar methodologies. Finds both similarities and differences across the three countries in how business uses the Web with UK firms more likely to be seeking strategic advantage from use of the Internet. In all countries, business use of the Web involves marketing communication; however, use of the Internet as a marketing channel for transactions is much lower. UK firms are more likely to use the Internet in relationship management than are Australasian firms. Concludes that there is less sophisticated business use of the Internet by Australasian companies relative to UK companies. Further concludes that there is a need for further research to resolve the conundrum facing marketing organisations in all three countries.

A Model of Web Use in Direct and Online Marketing Strategy

There has been less than a decade of rapid diffusion of the Internet and related technologies into the commercial world, with resultant changes in business processes, business structure and financial valuations of adopting businesses. Advocates and critics of new online business models are still addressing the relationship between online or electronic marketing using the Internet (Net) and marketing and financial outcomes. There remains a need for empirical research into specific aspects of online marketing strategy beyond click-through analysis, Web audience analysis and scrutiny of website properties to mention the most widely examined elements. This paper discusses conceptualizations underpinning development of a model of Web use in marketing strategy. The aim of the paper is to aid both business practitioner and academician alike in connecting direct and online marketing using the Web with performance outcomes.

Ethics in practice: using compliance techniques to boost telephone response rates

Survey researchers face declining response rates, due to lower contactability and more selective cooperation by potential respondents. Commercial market research companies are under even greater pressure than academic researchers as most commercial surveys do not have high social status. Several persuasion techniques to enhance cooperation have been used in academic surveys, though some of them might be considered unethical. Given the commercial pressures of time and cost, this study investigated the extent to which market research companies favoured these persuasion techniques. A survey of fieldwork managers in companies operating in Australia was conducted, along with qualitative research. It was found that some techniques were unacceptable as they threatened long-term relationships with the public, some were impractical and others were useful, but not for all surveys.

Marketing research and customer analytics: interfunctional knowledge integration

The Customer Analytics (CA) function is increasingly leveraged for Customer Relationship Management (CRM), however it may lack the value of marketing knowledge available from the Marketing Research (MR) function due to inadequate interfunctional knowledge integration. This paper develops a set of sixteen propositions from a synthesis of the marketing and knowledge management literatures relating key organisational influences on the integration of knowledge between the MR and CA functions. A range of strategic, cultural, structural and technical influences is reflected by the propositions. It is planned to test the propositions in future empirical research.

The world wide web in modern marketing's contribution to organisational performance

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide a better understanding of the antecedents of organisational performance (OP), both financial and marketing, and the influence of holding a strategic market orientation (MO) where customer‐base volatility is taken into account.Design/methodology/approach – A sample of 167 marketing organisations in Australia was surveyed to test the hypothesised model. Structural equation modelling was employed in the data analysis.Findings – Use of the world wide web (Web) reported by organisations in this study indicates that there is still separate use of the Web and that it has yet to be fully integrated into the marketing strategy of many organisations. The study finds that traditional marketing effort mediates the relationship between holding a MO and OP in terms of financial indicators.Research limitations/implications – A major limitation of this study is that it surveys organisations from many industries rather than selected industries. This tends to mask some of t...

Reaching and influencing consumers in the prescription medicine market

Purpose – Celebrex became the first of a new class of drugs known as COX‐2 selective non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs. It improves treatment for arthritis sufferers without compromising the protective lining of the stomach. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate how direct‐to‐consumer advertising (DTCA) of prescription medicines can be used to rebuild faith in the cyclooxygenase‐2 (COX‐2) product category.Design/methodology/approach – The case is developed using published sources and no input is required from company representatives. The presentation style follows the classic comprehensive case format used in postgraduate teaching programmes.Findings – Business executives and strategic marketing students would benefit from a discussion on how external environmental factors can suddenly impose a review of marketing strategy. The reader learns how management addresses the business dilemma using DTCA.Research limitations/implications – A blockbuster rival drug Vioxx is withdrawn due to cardiovascula...

Investigating directionality for a media consumption construct: Establishing the utility of confirmatory vanishing tetrad analysis

Purpose – When assessing the psychometric properties of measures and estimate relations among latent variables, many studies in the social sciences (including management and marketing) often fail to comprehensively appraise the directionality of indicants. Such failures can lead to model misspecification and inaccurate parameter estimates. The purpose of this paper is to apply a post hoc test called confirmatory vanishing tetrad analysis (CTA hereafter) to a single construct called mass media consumption information exposure, which antecedent studies conceptually posited to be a formative (causative) representation.Design/methodology/approach – This paper analyses a consumer sample of 585 US respondents and applies the CTA test to a single construct by its inclusion in various matrices within a statistical analysis system‐macro that takes into account nonnormal data characteristics. The matrices are derived from Mplus 5 through the estimation of a single‐factor congeneric model. The CTA test calculates a ...

A Reinquiry Into the Influence of Simple and Complex Tropes in the Advertising Context

This study is a reinquiry into verbal tropes and their influence on persuasion in the advertising context. Specifically, when closely following Toncar and Munchs (2003) experimental method, it appears that tropes, be they simple or complex, do not have the significant persuasive effects that they are reported to have. The null results can be attributed to the experimental design employed, thus highlighting why the limited research in the area should be interpreted with caution.