Pricing to manage export channel relationships

In a novel approach using agency theory, we conceptualize export pricing as price manipulations an exporter initiates to cope with the distributor-level, internal competition with the other product lines the distributor carries. We argue that suppliers can influence foreign resellers' behaviors and therefore manage export channel relationships with prices. Using a sample of 283 exporter-importer relationships, we uncover the export price manipulations used to cope with internal competition, and we examine their impact on the exporter economic performance. We show that the performance effect of this pricing policy is achieved through the adequate role performance of the importer. Moreover, using a small but rare dyadic data set, we offer an additional test of the effectiveness of this form of pricing. Finally, by comparing the results of our study to exporters' practice we show how they tend to overuse price discounts to motivate their overseas distributors. (authors' abstract

Reluctance to use technology-related products: Development of a technophobia scale

Many consumers feel overloaded by the complexity of technology-related products. This renders consumers less open and may even lead to an aversion or anxiety towards this kind of products, so-called technophobia. The prevailing paper aims to establish an instrument which measures technophobia. Following a literature review and in-depth interviews with experts, a scale is developed and tested in seven different countries (U.S., U.K., France, Spain, India, Mexico and Austria, total sample size = 1503 respondents). The three underlying dimensions of the scale, namely, "Personal Failure", "Human vs. Machine Ambiguity" and "Convenience" are discussed and future research avenues to strengthen the cross-national usability of the scale are identified

Customer satisfaction in emergency ambulance services: A case for empirical research

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) provides valuable humanitarian services to the global community. For its funding it relies not only on governmental subsidies, but also on contributions from its member organisations. In the case of Austria and Germany the prominent part of the revenues stems from emergency and ambulance services. However, competition from other non-profit organisations and private firms increasingly seems to threaten this lucrative business. Consequently, the ICRC is looking for new paths to maintain and increase its competitive advantage - the wide-spread service availability and the closeness to the customer. Therefore, a pilot project is carried out within the Austrian Red Cross, one of its member organisations, to identify ways to increase customer satisfaction. However, gathering relevant empirical data is extremely difficult and ethically challenging due to the unique survey situation during the service transaction process. If successful, this project will have lead character for other European countries

Fifty Years of Empirical Research on Country-of-Origin Effects on Consumer Behavior: A Meta-Analysis

Part of the Developments in Marketing Science: Proceedings of the Academy of Marketing Science book series.Country-of-origin (COO) effects, defined as the influence of foreignness of products/services on consumer choice behavior (Samiee 2011), has been one of the most frequently investigated topics in the field of international marketing. Although a significant amount of scholarly work has been published on the subject over the last five decades, there is little consensus over its nature and conceptualization, internal validity, importance to consumers, and relevance to managers, given the globalization of markets, uncertainties regarding the accuracy of consumers’ knowledge of the true COO, and different regulations among countries regarding the disclosure of COO information (e.g., Harzing and Josiassen 2008; Magnusson et al. 2011; Roth and Diamantopoulos 2009; Samiee 2010, 2011; Samiee and Leonidou 2011; Samiee et al. 2005; Usunier 2006). This body of research has also been criticized as being too fragmented, inconsistent, and non-programmatic to yield a clear picture on the subject (Samiee 1994)

Forget the Areal@ Thingbtake the Copy! an Explanatory Model For the Volitional Purchase of Counterfeit Products Forget the "Real" Thing-Take the Copy! An Explanatory Model for the Volitional Purchase of Counterfeit Products

ABSTRACT -As the supply with fake products has been growing dramatically across the globe, manufacturers of the original products and governments find themselves in a constant battle against counterfeiters. While the supply side has attracted considerable attention of researchers, the knowledge on what drives customers to buy the fake rather than the original remains still far from consolidated. Based on a sample of 1040 respondents, this study uses the Theory of Planned Behavior to systematize past findings in the field and comes up with a model explaining key drivers of the demand for counterfeits. [to cite]: Elfriede Penz and Barbara Stottinger 568 Advances in Consumer Research Volume 32, © 2005 Forget the "Real" Thing-Take the Copy! An Explanatory Model for the Volitional Purchase of Counterfeit Products Elfriede Penz, Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien Barbara Stöttinger, Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien ABSTRACT As the supply with fake products has been growing dramatically across the globe, manufacturers of the original products and governments find themselves in a constant battle against counterfeiters. While the supply side has attracted considerable attention of researchers, the knowledge on what drives customers to buy the fake rather than the original remains still far from consolidated. Based on a sample of 1040 respondents, this study uses the Theory of Planned Behavior to systematize past findings in the field and comes up with a model explaining key drivers of the demand for counterfeits