nep-mkt New Economics Papers
on Marketing
Issue of 2014‒10‒03
eight papers chosen by
João Carlos Correia Leitão
Universidade da Beira Interior

  1. Welfare enhancing coordination in consumer cooperatives under mixed oligopoly By Marco Marini; Paolo Polidori; Desiree Teobaldelli; Alberto Zevi
  2. Selling Cookies By Bergemann, Dirk; Alessandro Bonatti
  3. How can a corporate brand (of higher education) benefit from social networks in its internal communication strategy? The case of Catholic University of Portugal - Porto By Teresa Lopes; Joana César Machado
  4. Millennials with money: a new look at who uses GPR prepaid cards By Herbst-Murphy, Susan; Weed, Greg
  5. Strategic Choice on Product Line in Vertically Differentiated Duopoly By Ryoma Kitamura; Tetsuya Shinkai
  6. Distinguishing dimensions of pro-environmental behaviour By Lynn, Peter
  7. Does a financial crisis make consumers increasingly prudent? By Noordegraaf-Eelens, L.H.J.; Franses, Ph.H.B.F.
  8. Events as spaces for upgrading By van Tuijl, E.; Dittrich, K.

  1. By: Marco Marini (Department of Computer, Control and Management Engineering, Universita' degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza"); Paolo Polidori (Universita' degli Studi di Urbino "Carlo Bo"); Desiree Teobaldelli (Universita' degli Studi di Urbino "Carlo Bo"); Alberto Zevi (Centro Studi Legacoop, Rome, Italy)
    Abstract: The recent globalization of world economies has led the retail markets of developed countries towards increasing levels of integration and strategic interdependence. A non negligible share of retail and food markets is currently served by co-operative societies. Consistently with this trend, the consumer cooperatives have recently experienced increasing levels of integration. The main aim of this paper is to study the welfare effects of coordination among consumer cooperatives competing in quantities in a mixed oligopoly against profit-maximizing firms. We show that, in absence of agency problems, whereas under increasing or constant returns to scale a higher output coordination of consumer cooperatives may not affect the total welfare as long as a nonnegative profit constraint holds, under decreasing returns to scale the consumer cooperatives may contribute more to social welfare when acting on behalf of all consumers. This is because, by coordinating consumers' preferences, these firms can reduce their market output, thus helping the market to come closer to the first best. All together these results seem to provide an argument in favor of the recent process of integration involving consumer cooperatives in many developed countries.
    Keywords: Consumer Cooperatives ; Mixed Oligopoly ; Profit-maximizing Firms; Mergers
    Date: 2014
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aeg:report:2014-10&r=mkt
  2. By: Bergemann, Dirk (Cowles Foundation, Yale University); Alessandro Bonatti (Sloan School of Management, MIT)
    Abstract: We propose a model of data provision and data pricing. A single data provider controls a large database that contains information about the match value between individual consumers and individual firms (advertisers). Advertisers seek to tailor their spending to the individual match value. The data provider prices queries about individual consumers' characteristics (cookies). We determine the equilibrium data acquisition and pricing policies. Advertisers choose positive and/or negative targeting policies. The optimal query price influences the composition of the targeted set. The price of data decreases with the reach of the database and increases with the fragmentation of data sales.
    Keywords: Data providers, Data pricing, Selling information, Targeting, Online advertising, Cookies, Media markets
    JEL: D44 D82 D83
    Date: 2013–10
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cwl:cwldpp:1920rr&r=mkt
  3. By: Teresa Lopes (Faculdade de Economia e Gestão, Universidade Católica Portuguesa - Porto); Joana César Machado (Faculdade de Economia e Gestão and CEGE, Universidade Católica Portuguesa - Porto)
    Abstract: The purpose of this research is to investigate how a corporate brand of higher education can benefit from a social network for the development of its internal communication strategy. The research strategy involves a case study about Catholic University of Portugal, in Porto, and a qualitative data analysis. The results obtained suggest that, in comparison to its competitors, Catholic University of Porto is still at an early Web 1.0 stage, not taking advantage of the interactivity and customization potential of its internal communication. Social networks are indeed used, but only for external communication. In contrast, some of its international competitors use a private social network, Ning, to improve their corporate communication strategy. Findings also show that these tools are favorably perceived by the university’s employees, and could allow Catholic University to improve its internal communication system considerably. In particular, the use of social networks would offer professors and researchers an effective platform for sharing their research, building valuable partnerships or working in multidisciplinary projects. We believe that this research presents important benefits, both from an academic standpoint (several research domains were involved) and from an organizational perspective (by contributing to the strengthening of the university´s corporate brand). The main contribution of this work is related with the development of an exhaustive strategic plan for the implementation of an internal corporate social network.
    Keywords: Corporate brand; social networks, internal communication, higher education
    Date: 2014–07
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cap:mpaper:022014&r=mkt
  4. By: Herbst-Murphy, Susan (Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia); Weed, Greg (Phoenix Marketing International)
    Abstract: Phoenix Marketing International is a top 40 Honomichl market research company that annually fields an omnibus financial services survey that collects information from a representative sample of American households. Beginning in 2012, the survey added a series of questions designed to gather data on ownership and use of general-purpose reloadable (GPR) prepaid cards. This paper reports on those findings, including the discovery of a "power user" segment of the market composed of young and mid- to upper-income consumers who own and use GPR cards at rates well above the market average. Younger adults also appear to be combining both mainstream and alternative financial services in ways that complicate some attempts to classify consumers as "banked" or "underbanked."
    Keywords: General-purpose prepaid cards; Millennials; personal financial management; electronic payments
    JEL: D1
    Date: 2014–09–01
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedpdp:14-03&r=mkt
  5. By: Ryoma Kitamura (Graduate School of Economics, Kwansei Gakuin University); Tetsuya Shinkai (School of Economics, Kwansei Gakuin University)
    Abstract: In a real oligopoly, firms often supply multiple products differentiated by quality in the same market. To examine why they do so, we consider a duopoly model in which firms can choose between supplying two vertically differentiated products and selling a single product in the same market. By deriving equilibriums for possible games and comparing their outcomes with each other, we explored the conditions in which firms strategically determine their product lines, choosing to sell between a single product and two products. The first three are the cases in which both firms supply both products, or they supply either homogeneous product of the two in the same market. The last two are those in which one firm supplies both but another firm does either of the two. We find that a firm producing only one product has an incentive to launch another product as long as it can do so.
    Keywords: Multi-product firm; Duopoly; Strategic choice of product line; Vertical product differentiation, Cannibalization, Launch of product
    JEL: D21 D43 L13 L15
    Date: 2014–08
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kgu:wpaper:120&r=mkt
  6. By: Lynn, Peter
    Abstract: This study empirically identifies dimensions of behaviour that are distinct in terms of the extent to which people act pro-environmentally. Three dimensions are identified, relating to at-home, transport-related and purchasing behaviour. The correlation between behaviour in each dimension is explored and the characteristics and attitudes associated with the extent to which behaviour is pro-environmental in each dimension are compared. The correlates of pro-environmental behaviour are found to differ between the dimensions. Attitudes towards the environment are more strongly associated with at-home or purchasing behaviours than with transport-related behaviours. The findings have implications for the design of policies intended to influence behaviours with environmental impact and for marketing of pro-environmental behaviours.
    Date: 2014–04–29
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ese:iserwp:2014-19&r=mkt
  7. By: Noordegraaf-Eelens, L.H.J.; Franses, Ph.H.B.F.
    Abstract: __Abstract__ Given the enormous impact of the 2007-2010 worldwide financial crisis on societies, one may wonder what the impact was on individual consumer behavior concerning financial products and services. A natural expectation would be that the crisis made people aware of the risks and consequently that they should become increasingly prudent when their own finances are at stake. Prudency can appear in gathering more information, more frequently asking for advice and higher reluctance to buy higher risk and unknown products. In this paper we hold statements of recent buyers of financial products and services against those of a representative group of already long term owners of financial decision makers. Interestingly, based upon detailed data covering the period 2007-2013 we find only small differences between recent closers and the representative group. In fact, in most cases these differences point towards less prudent behavior. Moreover, we find that these differences cannot be explained by GDP growth. We also find that higher educated consumers show more prudence. In sum, we document that consumer behavior is relatively indifferent to changes at a macroeconomic level.
    Keywords: attitude, crisis, experience, education, prudence, financial decision making
    JEL: D1 D14 G00
    Date: 2014–08–18
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ems:eureir:51746&r=mkt
  8. By: van Tuijl, E.; Dittrich, K.
    Abstract: This article analyses how upgrading takes during events. We do this via a systematic analysis of different upgrading mechanisms, seen through the lens of three players: firms, event organisers and the media. Our empirical study of China’s largest auto show reveals that upgrading takes particularly place via monitoring and global buzz. In addition, it offers the potential to develop new global pipelines between Chinese and Western firms. Mobility turned to be less relevant as an upgrading mechanism. The media and the organisers both influence the possibilities for monitoring and global buzz. Moreover, the latter can affect the access to new global pipelines.
    Date: 2014–09–11
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ems:eureri:76070&r=mkt

This nep-mkt issue is ©2014 by João Carlos Correia Leitão. It is provided as is without any express or implied warranty. It may be freely redistributed in whole or in part for any purpose. If distributed in part, please include this notice.
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