The influence of consumers' goals on selective attention to product features.

Although attention is a key construct in models of marketing communications and consumer choice, its selective nature has rarely been examined in the time-pressured conditions that consumers face everyday. We investigate how consumers' goals influence selective attention to product features under such conditions. Specifically, we focus on the role of goal salience, that is, the readiness with which particular goals (e.g., personalized customer service) are brought to mind by consumers in relation to a given product category (e.g., banks). Study1 demonstrated that when product feature information was presented rapidly, individuals for whom the goal of personalized customer service had high chronic or habitual salience displayed selective attention in terms of their elevated recall of a target feature (a bank's 'friendly employees'). Also, as expected, individual differences in chronic goal salience affected judgments of the target product. Study2 showed that when subjects were additionally informed about a specific product usage situation (e.g., being new in town or experiencing difficulty in balancing a checkbook), selective attention was no longer affected by individuals' chronic tendencies. Instead, both feature recall and judgments were influenced by the relevance of the target feature to the goals made salient by the situational context. Discussion emphasizes the theoretical and managerial implications of the findings regarding the role of goal salience in selective attention to product features.Product;

Benefit salience and consumers' selective attention to product features.

Although attention is a key construct in models of marketing communication and consumer choice, its selective nature has rarely been examined in common time-pressured conditions. We focus on the role of benefit salience, that is, the readiness with which particular benefits are brought to mind by consumers in relation to a given product category. Study I demonstrated that when product feature information was presented rapidly, individuals for whom the benefit of personalised customer service had high habitual salience displayed selective attention as evidenced by elevated recall and recognition of a target feature (a bank's ''friendly employees''). Also, as expected, individual differences in habitual benefit salience affected judgements of the target product. Study 2 showed that when subjects were additionally informed about a specific product usage situation, selective attention was primarily influenced by the relevance of the target feature to benefits made salient by the usage situation; individual differences played a less important role. Discussion emphasises theoretical aspects of the findings as well as managerial implications with respect to person-situation approaches to benefit segmentation. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.attention; benefit segmentation; individual construct accessibility; usage context; involvement; segmentation; substitution; experiences; memory; recall; choice; link;

The 43-kD polypeptide of heart gap junctions: immunolocalization, topology, and functional domains

Analysis by SDS-PAGE of gap junction fractions isolated from heart suggests that the junctions are comprised of a protein with an Mr 43,000. Antibodies against the electroeluted protein and a peptide representing the 20 amino terminal residues bind specifically on immunoblots to the 43-kD protein and to the major products arising from proteolysis during isolation. By immunocytochemistry, the protein is found in ventricle and atrium in patterns consistent with the known distribution of gap junctions. Both antibodies bind exclusively to gap junctions in fractions from heart examined by EM after gold labeling. Since only domains of the protein exposed at the cytoplasmic surface should be accessible to antibody, we conclude that the 43-kD protein is assembled in gap junctions with the amino terminus of the molecule exposed on the cytoplasmic side of the bilayer, that is, on the same side as the carboxy terminus as determined previously. By combining proteolysis experiments with data from immunoblotting, we can identify a third cytoplasmic region, a loop of some 4 kD between membrane protected domains. This loop carries an antibody binding site. The protein, if transmembrane, is therefore likely to cross the membrane four times. We have used the same antisera to ascertain if the 43-kD protein is involved in cell-cell communication. The antiserum against the amino terminus blocked dye coupling in 90% of cell pairs tested; the antiserum recognizing epitopes in the cytoplasmic loop and cytoplasmic tail blocked coupling in 75% of cell pairs tested. Preimmune serum and control antibodies (one against MIP and another binding to a cardiac G protein) had no or little effect on dye transfer. Our experimental evidence thus indicates that, in spite of the differences in amino acid sequence, the gap junction proteins in heart and liver share a general organizational plan and that there may be several domains (including the amino terminus) of the molecule that are involved in the control of junctional permeability

The Appropriateness of Different Modes of Strategy from a Product-Market Perspective

Strategy-making is an important yet complex task. The present research examines the issue of strategy mode, that is, the manner or style in which strategy is determined in an organization. Prior researchers have proposed various typologies for strategy modes. However, research into which strategy modes are appropriate to what kinds of firm situations and contexts has been limited. Specifically, there has been no research that explores strategy modes from a marketing environment perspective. Given that research at the intersection of marketing and management disciplines has often produced mutually beneficial, rich insights, we approach strategy modes from a product-market perspective and examine the normative appropriateness of different strategy modes with reference to firms\u27 external and internal environments. The research also explores the relevance and value of combining various strategy modes in regard to different stages of the product-market life cycle. In exploring strategy modes and their combinatory influences from a product-market perspective, we develop specific propositions. The paper concludes with a discussion of implications for academics and practitioners

The impact of ambient scent on evaluation, attention, and memory for familiar and unfamiliar brands

Subjects were exposed to familiar and unfamiliar brand names in either consumer behavior, especially when compared with the amount of research devoted to other senses, such as vision and hearing a pleasantly scented or unscented environment. A computer recorded how much time they took to evaluate each brand. After a distracter task, thei

Analytical Investigation of Sound Radiation from Functionally Graded Thin Plates Based on Elemental Radiator Approach and Physical Neutral Surface

This paper analyzes the sound radiation behavior of a clamped thin, functionally graded material plate using the classical plate theory and Rayleigh Integral with the elemental radiator approach. The material properties of the plate are assumed to vary according to the power-law distribution of the constituent materials in the transverse direction. The functionally graded material is modeled using a physical neutral surface instead of a geometric middle surface. The effects of the power-law index, elastic modulus ratio, different constituent materials, and damping loss factor on the sound radiation of functionally graded plate are analyzed. It was found that, for the considered plate, the power-law index significantly influences sound power level and radiation efficiency. There exists a critical value of the power-law index for which the corresponding peak of sound power level is minimum. In a wide operating frequency range, approximately 500–1500 Hz, this research suggests that the radiation efficiency is lower for the power-law index equal to 0 and 1. However, for very low frequencies (less than 250 Hz), the power-law index does not affect radiation efficiency significantly. Further, as the modulus ratio increases, the sound power peak decreases for a given power-law index. For the given material constituents of the functionally graded plate, the different values of damping loss factors do not significantly influence radiation efficiency. However, the selection of material constituents affects the radiation efficiency peak

Inferring Market Structure from Customer Response to Competing and Complementary Products

We consider customer influences on market structure, arguing that market structure should explain the extent to which any given set of market offerings are substitutes or complements. We describe recent additions to the market structure analysis literature and identify promising directions for new research in market structure analysis. Impressive advances in data collection, statistical methodology and information technology provide unique opportunities for researchers to build market structure tools that can assist “real-time” marketing decision-making.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/46981/1/11002_2004_Article_5088105.pd

Category spanning, evaluation, and performance: revised theory and test on the corporate law market

Studies suggest that category-spanning organizations receive lower evaluation and perform worse than organizations focused on a single category. We propose that (1) these effects are contingent on clients' theory of value and that as clients expect more sophisticated services, they tend to value category spanners more positively and (2) the evaluation of producers mediates the relationship between category spanning and performance. We test our hypotheses using original data on corporate legal services in three markets (London, New York City, and Paris) over the decade 2000-2010. We find that (1) category spanners receive a better evaluation, and more so when their categorical combination is more inclusive and (2) evaluation mediates significantly the relationship between category spanning and performance. This study enriches our understanding of how audiences apprehend a whole market category system and why organizations span categories.The HEC Foundation and the Society & Organizations Research Center provided financial support for this research