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on Marketing |
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Issue of 2010‒02‒13
seven papers chosen by Joao Carlos Correia Leitao Polytechnic Institute of Portalegre and Technical University of Lisbon |
| By: | Parguel, Béatrice; Benoît-Moreau, Florence |
| Abstract: | De nombreuses enseignes communiquent sur leurs engagements sociétaux afin d’améliorer leur image auprès des consommateurs. Néanmoins, face à la profusion d’arguments plus ou moins fondés, l’efficacité de la communication sociétale peut être questionnée. Mobilisant la théorie de l’attribution, cette recherche examine l’impact de la réputation de l’entreprise sur la façon dont le consommateur réagit à la communication sociétale. Les résultats valident l’absence d’impact de la communication sociétale sur le capital-marque lorsqu’une enseigne pâtit d’une mauvaise réputation. En revanche, en cas de bonne réputation, les consommateurs infèrent des motivations internes dans la prise de parole de l’enseigne, ce qui influence la sincérité perçue de celle-ci et in fine, son capital-marque. |
| Abstract: | Many retailers communicate about their societal engagements to improve their image. Yet, overwhelmed by these more or less well-founded societal claims, consumers get troubles to identify truly responsible retailers, making societal communication probably less efficient. Based upon the attribution theory, this research examines the role of independent information regarding the retailer’s societal reputation on consumers’ response to societal communication. Results show the absence of impact of societal communication on brand equity in case of bad reputation, as consumers infer less internal motivations for the retailer to communicate, therefore decreasing its perceived sincerity as well as its brand equity. |
| Keywords: | Communication sociétale; réputation; théorie de l’attribution; capital-marque; distribution; societal communication; reputation; attribution theory; brand equity; retailing; |
| JEL: | M31 D12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ner:dauphi:urn:hdl:123456789/2554&r=mkt |
| By: | Berman, Ron; Katona, Zsolt |
| Abstract: | Web sites invest significant resources in trying to influence their visibility in online search results. We study the economic incentives of Web sites to invest in this process known as search engine optimization. We focus on methods that improve sites' ranking among the search results without affecting their quality. We find that the process is equivalent to an all-pay auction with noise and headstarts. Our results show that in equilibrium, under certain conditions, some positive level of search engine optimization improves the search engine's ranking and thus the satisfaction of its visitors. In particular, if the quality of sites coincides with their valuation for visitors then search engine optimization serves as a mechanism that improves the ranking by correcting measurement errors. While this benefits consumers and search engines, sites participating in search engine optimization could be worse off unless their valuation for traffic is very high. We also investigate how search engine optimization affects sites' investment in content and find that it can lead to underinvestment as a result of wasteful spending on search engine optimization. |
| Keywords: | seo; search engine optimization; search marketing; all-pay auctions; contests |
| JEL: | M31 M37 D44 D83 |
| Date: | 2010–01–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:20129&r=mkt |
| By: | Beatriz Casais (Faculdade de Economia, Universidade do Porto); João F. Proença (Faculdade de Economia, Universidade do Porto) |
| Abstract: | This paper discusses celebrity participation in social marketing programs focusing on public health, especially on HIV programs. The research identifies the inhibitions of celebrity people and implications that this involvement may have upon their lives. The paper analysis data from in-depth interviews made to twenty-seven Portuguese celebrities from arts, show business and sports. The results show absence of prejudice against HIV. Famous people feel motivated to join public health and HIV cause because of the serious nature of the disease, as well as the social stigma attached to AIDS which can suggest positive discrimination. The paper also shows that celebrities expected a fee for their endorsement, despite the social role they consider celebrities should have, and the positive image they benefit for endorsing public health campaigns. The research discusses celebrity expectations and worries and, finally, shows several results that are helpful for negotiations between institutions and celebrities insofar as it may pave the way for celebrity involvement in social marketing programs. |
| Keywords: | Social marketing, Celebrity endorsement, HIV prevention |
| JEL: | H51 H52 H53 H75 I10 I18 |
| Date: | 2010–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:por:fepwps:360&r=mkt |
| By: | Lundberg, Johan (Department of Economics, Umeå University); Lundberg, Sofia (Department of Economics, Umeå University) |
| Abstract: | From economic theory, it is known that consumer loyalty schemes can have lock-in effects resulting in entry barriers and higher prices. This paper concerns consumer loyalty schemes where the main issue is to test the hypothesis that loyalty scheme membership affects the choice of food retailer. This choice is modeled as a random utility maximization problem estimated with maximum likelihood. Based on a data set covering 1,551 Swedish households, we find evidence supporting this hypothesis. Further, according to the results, store characteristics and geographical distance matter for the choice of retailer while household characteristics are not found to have a significant effect. |
| Keywords: | Bonus card; Conditional logit; Consumer choice; Distance; Food retailer; Loyalty scheme |
| JEL: | D12 L49 L66 L81 R10 |
| Date: | 2010–02–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:umnees:0034&r=mkt |
| By: | Markku Kotilainen; Heli Koski; Reijo Mankinen; Olavi Rantala |
| Abstract: | The study analyses the price formation and market functionality of the Finnish food chain. A significant portion of the report consists of international comparisons. The main comparison countries are the so-called old EU countries (EU15) of Western Europe, the new EU countries (EU12) and the United States. Comparisons are also made with individual countries. After the international comparisons, the price formation of the food chain, degree of concentration, competition, and the position of small producers is analysed for Finland in more detail. The main findings of the study are as follows : 1) a significant reason for the high price of foodstuffs in Finland is the high VAT, 2) the price level without VAT was in 2005 a couple of per cent higher and in December 2009 about 7 per cent higher than the average in the old EU countries, but it is considerably higher than in the new EU countries and the United States, 3) In Finland the price level of food-stuffs is elevated by the weak agricultural competitiveness (northern location and small farm size); on the other hand, the competitiveness of the foodstuffs industry and the wholesale and retail trade is rather good, 4) measured in terms of price-cost margins, competition works in Finland just as well in agriculture, the foodstuffs industry and the wholesale and retail trade as it does in the food chain of the comparison countries, 5) the large share of the wholesale and retail trade in the Finnish food chain is attributable to higher transport costs than in the comparison countries, 6) in Finland the prices of foodstuffs have moved in the same direction as in comparison countries, albeit with a lag of a few months; in 2009 the prices of dairy products, butter and margarine, meat, fish products and food products nevertheless fell by considerably less than in the comparison countries and less than the development of producer prices would have indicated, 7) the foodstuffs industry and the wholesale and retail trade are concentrated sectors; enterprises nevertheless compete with each other and with imports, 8) the degree of concentration, agreement practices and price development should be monitored especially in product groups where consumer prices have not fallen in line with a decline in producer prices, 9) access of small producers to markets is important from the standpoint of competition and consumer choice; the position of small producers can best be improved by fostering the exchange of information within the chain. |
| Keywords: | foodstuff prices, food chain, agriculture, foodstuff industry, retail and wholesale trade, competition, competitiveness, small foodstuff producers, Finland |
| JEL: | C50 L1 L4 L66 L81 Q11 Q13 |
| Date: | 2010–02–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rif:dpaper:1209&r=mkt |
| By: | Coulibaly, Mantiaba; Sauvée, Loïc |
| Keywords: | Alliance; Brand; Governance; Network; Value; |
| JEL: | G34 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ner:dauphi:urn:hdl:123456789/2198&r=mkt |
| By: | Eugenio Brentari; Rosella Levaggi |
| Abstract: | We use a unique dataset to estimate the hedonic price function for the Italian red wine sold on the Italian market in the period 2006-2008. |
| Date: | 2010 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ubs:wpaper:1001&r=mkt |