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on Marketing |
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Issue of 2006‒12‒01
twelve papers chosen by Joao Carlos Correia Leitao Universidade da Beira Interior |
| By: | Munguzwe Hichaambwa (Department of Agricultural Economics, Michigan State University); David Tschirley |
| Abstract: | The proportion of smallholder households selling horticultural produce is very low suggesting that new demand points could enjoy substantial supply response if they link effectively to the smallholder sector. The small-scale traditional marketing system continues to dominate fresh produce flows in the country. Prices for consumers in this system are much lower, and quality is comparable and sometimes superior to supermarkets. Yet these markets suffer from serious structural problems due to a lack of public investment and little collaboration between public officials and traders in market management. The Urban Markets Development Program represents a major and impressive effort to improve wholesale and retail markets in the country, but has run into problems as legislative reform has stalled. In addition, UMDP was not designed to address key issues of improved linkages between rural farmers and urban markets. These need to be addressed with improved market information and marketing extension. Zambia’s horticultural sector operates in a regional market, exporting and importing every year. Understanding and quantifying this trade will be the first step in ensuring that policies and programs are conducive to continued high rates of growth. Major new supermarket outlets are in the market to stay, and their effects on smallholder farmers and the traditional marketing system need to be better understood. Where appropriate, programs to facilitate direct marketing by smallholders to these chains should be supported, but should not distract from an overall focus on improving urban wholesale and retail markets and linking these more effectively to farmers. |
| Keywords: | food security, food policy, Zambia, horticulture |
| JEL: | Q18 |
| Date: | 2006 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:msu:icpbrf:zm-fsrp-pb-017&r=mkt |
| By: | Claro, D. P. |
| Date: | 2006–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ibm:ibmecp:wpe_67&r=mkt |
| By: | Brekke, Kjell Arne (The Ragnar Frisch Centre for Economic Research); Rege, Mari (University of Stavanger) |
| Abstract: | By combining a theory of herding behavior with the phenomenon of availability heuristic, this paper shows that non-informative advertisements can affect people’s choices by influencing their perception of product quality. We present a model in which people can learn about product quality by observing the choices of others. Consumers are, however, not able to fully distinguish between the observations of real people and fictitious characters in advertisements. Even if a person is aware of this limitation and updates his beliefs accordingly, it is still rational for him to choose the product he has observed most often. In equilibrium the most observed product is always most likely to be of the highest quality. The analysis has important policy implications. |
| Keywords: | Advertising; availability heuristic; herding behavior; information; product quality |
| JEL: | D21 L15 M37 |
| Date: | 2006–11–14 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:osloec:2006_023&r=mkt |
| By: | Cinzia COLAPINTO |
| Abstract: | In this paper we focus on the relation between product quality and information, which let us distinguishing search and experience goods. We show how literature has studied the way firms signalling the high quality of their products/services: introductory discount pricing, strong advertising expenditures or commitment (for instance, warranties). For search goods we consider contributions dealing with a single-product monopolist (Spence 1975, Rochet and Stole 1999, Lambertini 1998,…) and a multiproduct monopolist (Mussa and Rosen 1978), this first simple model has been used extensively by applied theorists studying regulation, auctions, and labor contracts (Katz 1984, Rochet and Stole 2002,…) For experience goods, we mention for instance the lemons model (Akerlof 1970) and no milking condition (Shapiro 1983) |
| Keywords: | Product quality, search goods, experience goods, advertising and reputation |
| JEL: | L15 |
| Date: | 2006–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mil:wpdepa:2006-35&r=mkt |
| By: | Brekke, Kjell Arne (The Ragnar Frisch Centre for Economic Research); Rege, Mari (University of Stavanger) |
| Abstract: | We present a theory of how advertising can break a lock-in by distorting beliefs about market shares in markets with network externalities. On the background of the availability heuristic we assume that people learn about market shares by observing product adoption of others, but are not able to fully distinguish between observations of real people and …ctitious characters in advertisements. We look at a game between an incumbent and an entrant producing close substitutes. Our analysis shows that if the entrant’s product is of su¢ ciently high quality, then the entrant will use advertising in order to break the lock-in and the incumbent will not advertise at all. However, if the quality di¤erential between the two products is small, then the incumbent may advertise and make it unpro…table for the entrant to break the lock-in. |
| Keywords: | Advertising; availability heuristic; herding behavior; information; lock-in |
| JEL: | D21 L10 M37 |
| Date: | 2006–11–23 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:osloec:2006_024&r=mkt |
| By: | C. Simon Fan; Yifan Hu |
| Abstract: | Extending the literature on quality and trade and supported by the empirical evidence obtained from China, this paper demonstrates that in a developing country, a firm’s export to developed countries has a potential signaling effect on domestic consumers’ perception of its product quality. The model analyzes the signaling and imitating strategies of different types of firms in their decisions to export, and characterizes the conditions for the separating, pooling, and hybrid equilibria. Next, the analysis shows that the strategic exporting of low-quality producers under informational asymmetry can result in dumping. Moreover, the model shows that the implementation of antidumping measures of foreign countries can lead to a Pareto improvement for the firms and consumers of the home country under some circumstances. |
| JEL: | D82 F10 F13 L15 O12 |
| Date: | 2006–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:deg:conpap:c011_058&r=mkt |
| By: | David Tschirley (Department of Agricultural Economics, Michigan State University); Danilo Abdula; Michael T. Weber |
| Abstract: | Food system challenges are examined from the standpoint of the country’s principal staple food: maize. Steps are identified that the country could take in the short-run to improve the situation, and also emphasize the long-term challenges the country faces. The focus is principally on the Center and South of the country because, with South Africa, they form a natural market area due to production patterns and transport costs; maize north of the Zambezi River flows almost entirely to northern cities or to Malawi, or feeds net buyers in the North. |
| Keywords: | food security, food policy, Mozambique, maize |
| JEL: | Q18 |
| Date: | 2005 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:msu:icpbrf:mz-minag-fl-45e&r=mkt |
| By: | Singh Ramendra; Sinha Piyush Kumar |
| Abstract: | Case based pedagogy has become popular in most business schools today, since the pioneering efforts made by Harvard Business School, several decades ago. Although the case method approach stands firmly on grounds its effectiveness in ‘simulating reality of the business world’ in the classroom, yet it has its own limitations and cannot be used in all learning situations This article delves into both sides of the debate on the efficacy of case method for learning and through an exploratory study, models the attitude of MBA students towards the perceived learning aspects of the pedagogy. The premise of our beliefs-only attitude model rests on the conceptual analogy between a case study and an advertisement message as two similar forms of communication technology. Drawing heavily from the insights available in the advertising literature, the article suggests several hypotheses for future empirical validation. |
| Date: | 2006–11–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iim:iimawp:2006-11-05&r=mkt |
| By: | N?teberg, A.H.; Hunton, J.E.; Gomaa, M. (Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM), RSM Erasmus University) |
| Abstract: | The purpose of the current study is to assess the extent to which auditors? judgments are affected by client gender, perceived client expertise and auditor gender. While we predict an overall male client favorability bias, we expect that such bias will be mitigated when the client possesses a high, relative to low, level of perceived expertise. Further, we predict differential responses of male and female auditors toward client gender and perceived expertise based on dissimilar risk propensity traits between genders. A total of 157 experienced auditors participated in a between-participants experiment with two manipulated variables [client gender (male or female) and perceived client expertise (high or low)] and one measured variable [auditor gender (male or female)]. In a client-inquiry scenario, auditors exhibit greater belief revision when the client is male as compared to female. We observe a mitigating effect of perceived client expertise for male auditors, but not female auditors. Female auditors react more strongly than male auditors to client gender, such that they refrain from strongly revising their beliefs when the client is female, even when perceived client expertise is high. Since one of the hallmarks of the audit profession lies in the concept of objectivity, the results of this study indicate that audit researchers and practitioners need to better understand the implications of gender stereotypes toward female managers. |
| Keywords: | Gender Stereotypes;Client Expertise;Client Gender;Auditor Gender;Risk Taking; |
| Date: | 2006–11–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dgr:eureri:30009096&r=mkt |
| By: | Luis Antonio Orozco Castro; Diego Andrés Chavarro Bohorquez |
| Abstract: | El objetivo de este artículo es mostrar los impactos que se han generado a partir del desarrollo de actividades científicas y tecnológicas en el país en materia de heliconias. Para ello se utilizó la metodología desarrollada por el Observatorio Colombiano de Ciencia y Tecnología - OCyT1 para encontrar las relaciones entre la investigación y los cambios que se generaron en el país en cuanto a producción y exportación de esta flor. El artículo muestra la información disponible en materia de actividades científicas y tecnológicas que se han realizado en el país, permitiendo relacionarla con los impactos que se han generado en materia de productividad, exportaciones, empleos e incremento en la calidad de vida. |
| Date: | 2005–05–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:col:001013:002698&r=mkt |
| By: | Patrick Guy (LAMETA - Laboratoire Montpellierain d'économie théorique et appliquée - [CNRS : UMR5474][INRA] - [Université Montpellier I] - [Ecole Nationale Supérieure Agronomique de Montpellier]) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we develop an adverse selection model where a monopoly choices a non-linear pricing associated with an investment level which defines the technology of production used. We show that, in general, to implement a non-linear pricing the monopoly choice a level of investment, which depends of the type of consumer and, also, that the level of investment for each type is correlated with the recovery degree of the investment. |
| Keywords: | Adverse selection, Investment, Non linear pricing, Technology of production. |
| Date: | 2006–11–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:papers:halshs-00111645_v1&r=mkt |
| By: | María M. Aguilera Díaz; Camila Bernal Mattos; Paola Quintero Puentes |
| Abstract: | El turismo es uno de los sectores económicos más dinámicos del mundo por la generación empleo, el aporte de divisas y su contribución al desarrollo regional. En Colombia, el Caribe se ha consolidado como la región turística por excelencia dado el atractivo de sus recursos y su trayectoria. Sin embargo, esta actividad no ha alcanzado un desarrollo comparable con el logrado por otros países. En consideración a las potencialidades del turismo como estrategia de desarrollo regional y a su elección como apuesta productiva prioritaria de los departamentos de la región, el objetivo de este documento fue revisar las políticas de turismo existentes en Colombia y su importancia en la economía, y determinar las acciones que se deben reforzar en la región Caribe para lograr el desarrollo de este sector. Se concluye que el turismo es una oportunidad para que el Caribe colombiano actúe de manera conjunta en la creación de una instancia regional que lidere la ejecución de los planes maestro de turismo existentes, en la puesta en marcha de un Centro de Innovación de Turismo y en el diseño e implementación de un sistema de información turístico. |
| Date: | 2006–11–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:col:001038:002732&r=mkt |