Investigating Internet Channel Opportunities and Challenges: Managers\u27 Experiences Across Five Industries

Based upon a multiple-case methodology consisting of in-depth interviews with senior managers at five nationally recognized firms, the authors offer insights into how and to what extent these firms incorporate the Internet with existing business models and channel strategies. Opportunities to these firms include using the Internet to leverage information, initiate direct-to-consumer marketing practices, and enhance value-chain efficiencies. Challenges to successful incorporation of the Internet as a marketing medium include channel conflict, product characteristics, and intra-firm coordination. These findings provide insights into the complexity facing managers as they attempt to incorporate the Internet within existing business models and illustrate how business strategy involving the Internet must be developed in concert with existing business practices, structures, and relationships

A Mixed-Method Approach for Developing Market Segmentation Typologies in the Sports Industry

This study presents a mixed-method approach for segmenting a sports product-market using participation motivation data. Qualitative data are used to segment a national sports product-market—running footwear—using qualitative analysis software as well as multivariate statistical approaches. This study describes a systematic approach to developing a consumer segmentation typology using both demographic variables as well as self-expressed motivations for sport and fitness participation. The mixed-method approach reported here employs qualitative data to help validate subsequent quantitative cluster analysis, and draws upon cluster profiles to establish the structure for market segmentation. The findings from this study offer implications for marketing research and marketing communications in the sport industry

Future Proof and Real-World Ready: The Role of Live Project-Based Learning in Students’ Skill Development

The rapid pace of technological change taking place today makes it even more important for marketing educators to incorporate relevant technical and higher level meta-skills in their digital marketing courses. We review the pedagogical literature on skill development and project-based learning and detail two live course projects designed to help students develop technical skills related to digital marketing in addition to important meta-skills involving creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, and communication. We evaluate the impact of the projects through a direct and indirect assessment process. Findings suggest that live project–based learning can support the development of the technical and meta-skills necessary for students to adapt to uncertainty and ambiguity and become future proof and real-world ready as they enter the workforce. We discuss the benefits and challenges associated with moving digital marketing education from conceptual to real-life projects and highlight pedagogical recommendations for educators who want to integrate live project-based learning into their courses

Return on interactivity: The impact of online agents on newcomer adjustment

As service offerings grow in both range and complexity, how service providers and their customers interact is becoming increasingly important. In response to the challenge of optimizing these interactions, companies have introduced sophisticated online "socialization agents," whose purpose is to help new customers more effectively adjust to and function within the service environment. The objective of these online agents, or virtual employees, is to help customers evaluate new or unfamiliar service offerings, as well as help companies achieve greater levels of service delivery and financial performance. To investigate this, the authors analyze the process by which online agents help both new and current customers adjust to and function within new, unfamiliar, or complex service contexts. They examine the impact of an online agent on account performance in the banking industry. They find that both interaction style and content of the online agent significantly influence the newcomer adjustment process over time, which in turn influences firm-level performance

Identification of genetic variants associated with Huntington's disease progression: a genome-wide association study

Background Huntington's disease is caused by a CAG repeat expansion in the huntingtin gene, HTT. Age at onset has been used as a quantitative phenotype in genetic analysis looking for Huntington's disease modifiers, but is hard to define and not always available. Therefore, we aimed to generate a novel measure of disease progression and to identify genetic markers associated with this progression measure. Methods We generated a progression score on the basis of principal component analysis of prospectively acquired longitudinal changes in motor, cognitive, and imaging measures in the 218 indivduals in the TRACK-HD cohort of Huntington's disease gene mutation carriers (data collected 2008–11). We generated a parallel progression score using data from 1773 previously genotyped participants from the European Huntington's Disease Network REGISTRY study of Huntington's disease mutation carriers (data collected 2003–13). We did a genome-wide association analyses in terms of progression for 216 TRACK-HD participants and 1773 REGISTRY participants, then a meta-analysis of these results was undertaken. Findings Longitudinal motor, cognitive, and imaging scores were correlated with each other in TRACK-HD participants, justifying use of a single, cross-domain measure of disease progression in both studies. The TRACK-HD and REGISTRY progression measures were correlated with each other (r=0·674), and with age at onset (TRACK-HD, r=0·315; REGISTRY, r=0·234). The meta-analysis of progression in TRACK-HD and REGISTRY gave a genome-wide significant signal (p=1·12 × 10−10) on chromosome 5 spanning three genes: MSH3, DHFR, and MTRNR2L2. The genes in this locus were associated with progression in TRACK-HD (MSH3 p=2·94 × 10−8 DHFR p=8·37 × 10−7 MTRNR2L2 p=2·15 × 10−9) and to a lesser extent in REGISTRY (MSH3 p=9·36 × 10−4 DHFR p=8·45 × 10−4 MTRNR2L2 p=1·20 × 10−3). The lead single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in TRACK-HD (rs557874766) was genome-wide significant in the meta-analysis (p=1·58 × 10−8), and encodes an aminoacid change (Pro67Ala) in MSH3. In TRACK-HD, each copy of the minor allele at this SNP was associated with a 0·4 units per year (95% CI 0·16–0·66) reduction in the rate of change of the Unified Huntington's Disease Rating Scale (UHDRS) Total Motor Score, and a reduction of 0·12 units per year (95% CI 0·06–0·18) in the rate of change of UHDRS Total Functional Capacity score. These associations remained significant after adjusting for age of onset. Interpretation The multidomain progression measure in TRACK-HD was associated with a functional variant that was genome-wide significant in our meta-analysis. The association in only 216 participants implies that the progression measure is a sensitive reflection of disease burden, that the effect size at this locus is large, or both. Knockout of Msh3 reduces somatic expansion in Huntington's disease mouse models, suggesting this mechanism as an area for future therapeutic investigation

Strategic measure of competitiveness for ranked data

This study offers a method of evaluating the stability of ranks of a data vector over time. In particular, we study improvement of a process observed over time where the data is ranked. The degree of competition at a major tennis championship (Wimbledon) as well as how trends in the level of competition have changed over time is studied. A metric for shifts in competitiveness and a new statistical methodology is proposed. The findings suggest that competitiveness at Wimbledon has been extremely high. The study offers implications for the sport of tennis as well as an approach to measuring competitive dynamics that can be applied to other contexts. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.