Star marketer’s impact on the market strategy choice

We focus on understanding the role of star marketers in pursuing a market-driven vs. a market-driving strategy. Results indicate that market-driving and market-driven strategies are two approaches that can be pursued by market-oriented firms. A star marketer has a robust positive influence on market-driving strategy. In contrast, a star marketer has no meaningful influence on market-driven strategy. In short, while star marketers are very important for market-driving strategy and long term success, they represent an unnecessary cost and provide no added value to companies focusing on market-driven strategies and short term results

Marketing Research in the 21st Century: Opportunities and Challenges

The role of marketing is evolving rapidly, and design and analysis methods used by marketing researchers are also changing. These changes are emerging from transformations in management skills, technological innovations, and continuously evolving customer behavior. But perhaps the most substantial driver of these changes is the emergence of big data and the analytical methods used to examine and understand the data. To continue being relevant, marketing research must remain as dynamic as the markets themselves and adapt accordingly to the following: Data will continue increasing exponentially; data quality will improve; analytics will be more powerful, easier to use, and more widely used; management and customer decisions will increasingly be knowledge-based; privacy issues and challenges will be both a problem and an opportunity as organizations develop their analytics skills; data analytics will become firmly established as a competitive advantage, both in the marketing research industry and in academics; and for the foreseeable future, the demand for highly trained data scientists will exceed the supply

Common Beliefs and Reality about Partial Least Squares: Comments on Rönkkö and Evermann

This article addresses Rönkkö and Evermann’s criticisms of the partial least squares (PLS) approach to structural equation modeling. We contend that the alleged shortcomings of PLS are not due to problems with the technique, but instead to three problems with Rönkkö and Evermann’s study: (a) the adherence to the common factor model, (b) a very limited simulation designs, and (c) overstretched generalizations of their findings. Whereas Rönkkö and Evermann claim to be dispelling myths about PLS, they have in reality created new myths that we, in turn, debunk. By examining their claims, our article contributes to reestablishing a constructive discussion of the PLS method and its properties. We show that PLS does offer advantages for exploratory research and that it is a viable estimator for composite factor models. This can pose an interesting alternative if the common factor model does not hold. Therefore, we can conclude that PLS should continue to be used as an important statistical tool for management and organizational research, as well as other social science disciplines

Knowledge Creation in Marketing: The Role of Predictive Analytics

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of predictive analytics, summarize how it is impacting knowledge creation in marketing, and suggest future developments in marketing and predictive analytics for both organizations and researchers. Design/methodology/approach – Survival in a knowledge-based economy is derived from the ability to convert information to knowledge. To do so, researchers and managers increasingly are relying on the field of predictive analytics. Data mining identifies and confirms relationships between explanatory and criterion variables. Predictive analytics uses confirmed relationships between variables to predict future outcomes. The predictions are most often values suggesting the likelihood a particular behavior or event will take place in the future. Findings – Data mining and predictive analytics are increasingly popular because of the substantial contributions they can make in converting information to knowledge. Marketing is among the most frequent applications of the techniques, and whether you think about product development, advertising, distribution and retailing, or marketing research and business intelligence, data mining and predictive analytics increasingly are being applied. Originality/value – In the future, we can expect predictive analytics to increasingly be applied to databases in all fields and revolutionize the ability to identify, understand and predict future developments, data analysts will increasingly rely on mixed-data models that examine both structured (numbers)and unstructured (text and images) data, statistical tools will be more powerful and easier to use, future applications will be global and real time, demand for data analysts will increase as will the need for students to learn data analysis methods, and scholarly researchers will need to improve their quantitative skills so the large amounts of information available can be used to create knowledge instead of information overload

Partial Least Squares: The Better Approach to Structural Equation Modeling?

Researchers and practitioners appreciate the various advantageous features that PLS-SEM, as a component-based approach to SEM, offers in practical applications. Although strategic management research relatively early on recognized PLS-SEM\u27s flexibility regarding handling various modeling problems in studies (e.g., Hulland, 1999), its usefulness is still not well established amongst many management and strategy researchers. Against this background, this Long Range Planning special issue on PLS-SEM in strategic management research and practice seeks to provide a forum for topical issues that demonstrate its usefulness in this field. Descriptions of the method, its empirical applications, and methodological advancements that increase its usefulness in research and practice are specifically emphasized. As such, the special issue aims at two audiences: academics involved in the fields of strategy and management, and practitioners such as consultants. Accordingly, theoretical, methodological, and empirical manuscripts with strong implications for strategic research and practice are included in this special issue

Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling: Rigorous Applications, Better Results and Higher Acceptance

Wold\u27s (1982, 1974) and Lohmöller\u27s (1989) partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) approach has enjoyed increasing popularity as a key multivariate analysis method in various research disciplines such as accounting (Lee et al., 2011), international marketing (Henseler et al., 2009), management information systems (Ringle et al., 2012), marketing (Hair et al., 2012c) and operations management (Peng and Lai, 2012). Similarly, strategic management research has recognized PLS-SEM\u27s flexibility regarding the handling of various modeling problems (e.g., Hulland, 1999). However, according to Hair et al.\u27s. (2012b) recent review of PLS-SEM use in the strategic management field, the method\u27s dissemination is not as widespread as in other fields

Exploring the Role of Technology in Promoting CRM Capabilities in Direct Selling Marketing Channels: An Abstract

Technology has been serving as a catalyst to support company growth and performance over the last 20 years. Through the increasing acceptance of digital platforms, society has witnessed the transformation of how people interact and companies conduct business. Beyond traditional business models, direct selling companies are expanding beyond face-to-face interaction, employing and promoting the use of technology (e.g., social media sites, mobile messaging, and company-sponsored websites) to reach consumers. People are seeking opportunities within this alternative marketing channel at an increasing pace. According to the Direct Selling Association, 20.5 million people within the United States are now involved in the direct selling channel. Technology is beginning to play a critical role in the direct selling marketplace, driving and impacting the relationships among the direct selling firm, its sales force, and its customers. In the context of direct selling, technology can serve as a vehicle to promote and enable CRM capabilities such as identifying new customers, creating customer loyalty, and establishing long-term customer relationships. Due to the increasing economic impact of the direct selling channel, it is critical to explore the relationship of technology and performance of direct selling consultants. Using a sample of 195 direct selling consultants, we examine the impact of various technologies on customer relationships and salesperson performance

Heresies and Sacred Cows in Scholarly Marketing Publications

Merriam-Webster defines heresies as “dissent or deviation from a dominant theory, opinion, or practice.” This Journal of Business Research special issue and the editorial examine heresies and sacred cows in marketing research. Seven papers investigate different aspects of typical academic business journal presentations. Each manuscript critically analyzes generally accepted practices for the pursuit of publication in academic journals and reveals ways these practices may do more harm than good, hindering the goal of presenting true growth of knowledge through publication. The editorial provides an integrative schema for the manuscripts in the special issue. Providing a series of broader topics to tie the papers together, this special issue illustrates how the findings of each study can help improve our pursuit of knowledge. In addition, the editorial discusses heresies and sacred cows not covered by manuscripts in the current issue. The editorial concludes with recommendations for both authors and reviewers that may enhance the approach to research, methodologies employed, and reporting of scholarly research