The implementation of a market orientation. Designing frameworks for managerial action

Many managers aspire to improve the degree of market orientation of their organization. In concordance with popular belief, there is scientific evidence to support the proposition that higher degrees of market orientation are associated with higher returns on investment. In this book, the author deals with the questions of what a market orientation exactly is, and how a market orientation could be implemented in an organization.Based on a longitudinal involvement in two organizations that were making attempts to implement a market orientation, the author designs a set of frameworks that can guide managerial action for the implementation of such an orientation. Taken together, these frameworks define a market orientation as a process management capability, they explain how market oriented processes relate to performance, and they specify the steps managers can take to implement market oriented processes in their organization

Evaluating Density Forecasts with an Application to Stock Market Returns

Density forecasts have become quite important in economics and finance. For example, such forecasts play a central role in modern financial risk management techniques like Value at Risk. This paper suggests a regression based density forecast evaluation framework as a simple alternative to other approaches. In simulation experiments and an empirical application to in- and out-of-sample one-step-ahead density forecasts of daily returns on the S&P 500, DAX and ATX stock market indices, the regression based evaluation strategy is compared with a recently proposed methodology based on likelihood ratio tests. It is demonstrated that misspecifications of forecasting models can be detected within the proposed regression framework. It is further demonstrated that the likelihood ratio methodology without additional misspecification tests has no power in many practical situations and therefore frequently selects incorrect forecasting models. The empirical results provide some evidence that GARCH-t models provide good density forecasts. The results further suggest that extensions of statistical models with fat-tailed conditional distributions to models that incorporate higher order conditional moments beyond the conditional variance might be appropriate to capture the empirical regularities in financial time series in some cases. -- Die Voraussagen von Dichten ist in verschiedenen ökonomischen Fragestellungen sehr wichtig geworden. Solche Voraussagen spielen zum Beispiel eine wichtige Rolle bei modernen Methoden des Risikomanagements im Finanzsektor. Dieses Papier schlägt vor, Dichte-Prognosen mithilfe einer Methode zu beurteilen, die auf einem Regressionsansatz beruht. In Simulationsexperimenten und empirischen Anwendungen auf Dichte-Prognosen für tägliche Erträge verschiedener Aktienindices (S&P 500, DAX, ATX) wird diese Methode mit einer verglichen, die auf likelihood ratio Tests beruht und die erst neulich vorgeschlagen wurde. Es zeigt sich, dass Fehlspezifikationen der Prognosemodelle mithilfe der hier vorgeschlagenen Methode entdeckt werden können. Dagegen hat die Methode, die auf likelihood ratio Test beruht, ohne zusätzliche Tests auf Fehlspezifikation in vielen praktischen Fällen keine Macht. Die empirischen Ergebnisse deuten darauf hin, dass GARCH-t-Modelle gute Dichte-Prognosen liefern. Weiterhin wird gezeigt, dass Erweiterungen von statistischen Modellen mit Verteilungen mit dicken Enden zu Modellen, die höhere Momente einbeziehen, geeignet sein können, um in manchen Fällen empirische Regelmäßigkeiten in Finanzzeitreihen abzubilden.Density forecasting,Forecast evaluation,Risk management,GARCH-models

The Role of Schema Salience in Ad Processing and Evaluation

Advertising grids such as the Rossiter-Percy grid (Rossiter & Percy 1991, 1997) propose that brand-matching advertising is more effective than brand-mismatching advertising. However, for the match hypothesis to hold the brand schema needs to be salient in ad processing and evaluation. In this study we test how schema salience affects ad processing and evaluation. Two separate experiments were conducted, employing the same brand descriptions and ad scenarios. In the first experiment, the brand schema was made salient in ad processing, whereas in the second experiment the ad schema was made salient. In the first experiment brand(ad combinations were evaluated in line with the Rossiter-Percy advertising grid. If the brand schema was salient, consumers evaluated matching combinations of ad type and brand purchase motivation more favorably than mismatching combinations. In the second experiment, brand(ad combinations were evaluated in accordance with the existing ad schema. This implies that when the ad schema was salient, evaluations of brand(ad combinations were not affected by matches or mismatches between ads and purchase motivations for the brands.The two studies show that evaluation of brand(ad combinations depends on the schema that is salient at the time of information processing. Consequently, brand-matching advertising is effective only if consumers consciously relate ad information to brand knowledge, i.e., if the brand schema is salient in ad processing.advertising;advertising grid;brand perception;matching hypothesis;purchase motivation

Potential for improvement of population diet through reformulation of commonly eaten foods

Food reformulation: Reformulation of foods is considered one of the key options to achieve population nutrient goals. The compositions of many foods are modified to assist the consumer bring his or her daily diet more in line with dietary recommendations. Initiatives on food reformulation: Over the past few years the number of reformulated foods introduced on the European market has increased enormously and it is expected that this trend will continue for the coming years. Limits to food reformulation: Limitations to food reformulation in terms of choice of foods appropriate for reformulation and level of feasible reformulation relate mainly to consumer acceptance, safety aspects, technological challenges and food legislation. Impact on key nutrient intake and health: The potential impact of reformulated foods on key nutrient intake and health is obvious. Evaluation of the actual impact requires not only regular food consumption surveys, but also regular updates of the food composition table including the compositions of newly launched reformulated foods

The Effectiveness of Advertising Matching Purchase Motivation

Several authors have proposed frameworks to help advertisers predict and plan advertising effectiveness. Rossiter and Percy's advertising grid (1997) recommends that the ad appeal should match the purchase motivation or attitude base. They suggest that for utilitarian brands informational advertising is more effective than transformational advertising. Likewise, for hedonic brands transformational advertising is more effective than informational advertising. These recommendations were tested in an experiment with different products and different ads. Advertising effectiveness was measured by brand and ad evaluations.In contrast with Rossiter and Percy, we find that advertising that mismatches rather than matches the motivation for the brand is more effective. Our finding can be explained in two ways. Firstly, schema theory suggests that a moderate degree of incongruity between advertising and brand perceptions and unexpected but relevant information in the mismatching ad results in favorable evaluations, as compared with a matching ad. Secondly, research on attitudes and persuasion suggests that, if typical product category ads are associated with negative affect, the particular ad functions as a counterattitudinal message, which is more persuasive in the case of a mismatch rather than a match with the category ads. We find evidence for both explanations.advertising;advertising grid;brand perception;matching hypothesis;purchase motivation

The impact of supply chain-related factors on the environmental performance of manufacturing firms in Turkey

This paper investigates the impact of supply chain-related factors on the adoption of proactive environmental strategies, and the impact of such strategies on environmental investments and environmental performance. Data were collected from 96 Turkish manufacturers using an online questionnaire. The model was tested with PLS, a structural equation modelling method. The results show that a proactive environmental strategy leads to higher environmental investments which in turn lead to higher environmental performance. The results also show that two supply chain-related factors, organizational commitment and collaboration with suppliers, positively impact proactivity, whereas customer pressure does not have any significant direct impact on proactivity but it does positively impact environmental investments

Seasonal variation in food pattern but not in energy and nutrient intakes of rural Beninese school-aged children

Background: Inadequate energy and nutrient intakes are a major nutritional problem in developing countries. A recent study in Beninese school-aged children in different seasons revealed a high prevalence of stunting and poor iron status that might be related to the food pattern. Objective: To analyse the food pattern and resulting energy and nutrient intakes of rural Beninese school-aged children in relation to season and school attendance. Subjects and methods: The study was performed in northern Benin in eighty randomly selected children aged 6¿8 years. Dietary intake was assessed using observed weighed records. Food, energy and nutrient intakes were measured in post- and pre-harvest seasons. Complete food consumption data sets were available for seventy-five children. Results: Food pattern showed seasonal variations. Cereals, roots and tubers were the main staple foods. Contributions of animal products to the diet were very small. The food pattern was not different for either boys v. girls or for children attending v. not attending school. Median daily energy intakes were 5?0 and 5?3 MJ in the post- and pre-harvest season, respectively. Only fat and vitamin C showed seasonal differences (P,0?05). Energy and nutrient intakes were different for boys and girls but, unexpectedly, not for children attending v. not attending school. Conclusions: Seasonal variations in food pattern did not result in seasonality in energy and nutrient intakes. Because the children¿s diet was low in animal products, protein, fat and vitamin C and high in fibre, the absorption of fat, fatsoluble vitamins, carotenoids, Fe and Zn might be low. Fe and Zn bioavailability from such a diet needs further investigation