Category Archives: Papers and Articles

  • The Roles of Channel-Category Associations and Geodemographics in Channel Patronage

    Inman_Shankar_Ferraro_JM_2004

    by J. Jeffrey Inman, Venkatesh Shankar, and Rosellina Ferraro

    This article was published in the Journal of Marketing, 68 (April 2004),  51-71.

    Consumers purchase goods from a variety of channels or retail formats such as grocery stores, drug stores, mass merchandisers, club stores and convenience stores. To identify the most appropriate channels and to efficiently allocate the distribution of products among channels, managers need a better understanding of consumer behavior with respect to these channels. We examine the moderating role of  “channel-category associations” in consumer channel patronage by extending the literature on brand associations to the context of channels and estimate a model linking channel-category associations with consumer geodemographics and channel share of volume. We identify the product categories associated with particular channels through a correspondence analysis of a field intercept survey. We then use these channel-category associations, along with geodemographic factors to estimate their direct and interactive effects on channel share of volume. These channel-category associations have significant main effects and interaction effects with channel type and geodemographic factors on channel share of volume and account for the majority of the explained variance (72%) in channel share of volume. Overall, the findings provide several conceptual and managerial insights into consumer channel perceptions and patronage behavior.

  • Inferring Market Structure fom Customer Response to Competing and Complentary Products

    Elrod_Shocker__- Shankar_MLetters_2002

    by Terry Elrod, Gary Russell, Allan D. Shocker, Rick L. Andrews, Lynd Bacon, Barry L. Bayus, J. Douglas Carroll, Richard M. Johnson, Wagner A. Kamakura, Peter Lenk, Josef A. Mazanec, Vitala R. Rao, and Venkatesh Shankar

    This article was published in Marketing Letters, 13 (3), 219-230, 2002.

    We consider influences on market structure, arguing that market strucure 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 “realtime” marketing decision-making.

  • An Empirically Derived Taxonomy of Retailer Pricing and Promotion Strategies

    Bolton_Shankar_JR_2003

    by Ruth N. Bolton and Venkatesh Shankar

    This article was published in the Journal of Retailing, 79 (2003), 213-224.

    Most research categorizes grocery retailers as following either an EDLP or a HiLo pricing strategy at a store or chain level, whereas this paper studies retailer pricing and promotions at a brand-store level. It empirically examines 1,364 brand-store combinations from 17 chains, 212 stores and six categories of consumer package goods in five U.S. markets.  Retailer pricing and promotion strategies are found to be based on combinations of four underlying dimensions:  relative price, price variation, deal intensity and deal support.  At the brand-store level, retailers practice five pricing strategies, labeled exclusive, moderately promotional, HiLo, EDLP, and aggressive pricing.  Surprisingly, the most prevalent pricing strategy is characterized by average relative brand price, low price variation, medium deal intensity, and medium deal support.  The findings provide some initial benchmarks and suggest that retailers should closely monitor their competitors’ price decisions at the brand level.

  • Creating New Markets Through Service Innovations

    by Leonard Berry, Venkatesh Shankar, Janet Parish, Susan Cadwallader, and Thomas Dotzel

    This article was published in MIT Sloan Management Review. 47 (Winter 2006), 56-63.

    Many companies make icremental improvements to their service offerings, but few succeed in creating service innovations that generate new markets or reshape existing ones. To move in that direction, executives must understand the different types of market-creating service innovations as well as the nince factors that enable these service innovations.

     

  • Cross-Category Effects of Aisle and Display Placements: A Spatial Modeling Approach and Insights

    Bezawada_Balachander_Kannan_Shankar_JM_2009

    by Ram Bezawada, S. Balachander, P.K. Kannan, and Venkatesh Shankar

    published in the Journal of Marketing, 73 (May 2009), 99-117.

    Amid growing competition, retailers are increasingly interested in more effective aisle and display management strategies. These strategies involve placements of product categories in aisles and displays within each store to facilitate greater sales affinity (demand attraction) between categories to improve the store’s share of the customer wallet. We investigate the effects of aisle and display placements on the sales affinities between categories. We develop a spatial model of brand sales that allows for asymmetric store-specific affinity effects between two or more categories, while controlling for the effects of traditional merchandising and marketing mix variables, such as price, feature and display. We estimate the model on aggregate store-level data for regular cola and regular potato chip categories for a major retail chain, using hierarchical Bayesian methods. We show the usefulness and extension potential of the model through simulation of aisle placements for a third category. Our results show that aisle and display placements have significant and sizeable asymmetric effects on cross-category sales affinities comparable to those influenced by marketing mix variables. Retail managers can use our detailed store-level model and insights to develop customized aisle and display management for their individual stores.

    Bezawada_Balachander_Kannan_Shankar_JM_2009

  • Shopper Marketing

    by Venkatesh Shankar

    http://www.msi.org/books/shopper-marketing/

    http://www.amazon.com/Shopper-Marketing-Relevant-Knowledge-Series/dp/0982387733 

    This book in MSI’s Relevant Knowledge Series will help managers think systematically about shopper marketing challenges and opportunities. By defining shopper marketing to encompass all marketing activities that influence a shopper along, and beyond, the path-to-purchase, Shankar provides a unified framework for manufacturer and retailer collaboration. He encourages a “win-win” perspective in which manufacturers and retailers align their marketing activities to meet shopper needs and build better relationships with customers. 50 pages.

    Contents: 1.  What Is Shopper Marketing? 2.  Research Insights about Shopper Behavior 3.  Industry Practices 4.  Implications of Shopper Marketing Insights for Manufacturers and Retailers 5.  Emerging Trends and Underexplored Issues and Questions

  • Handbook of Marketing Strategy

    Edited by Venkatesh Shankar and Gregory S. Carpenter

    http://www.e-elgar.com/bookentry_main.lasso?currency=US&id=13920

    http://tinyurl.com/9apok9c

    This authoritative, comprehensive, and accessible volume by leading global experts provides a broad overview of marketing strategy issues and questions, including its evolution, competitor analysis, customer management, resource allocation, dynamics, branding, advertising, multichannel management, digital marketing and financial aspects of marketing.

    Contributors: T.J. Arnold, G.S. Carpenter, D. Chandrasekaran, J.A. Czepiel, M.G. Dekimpe, C. Frennea, G.F. Gebhardt, K. Gielens, R. Grewal, D.M. Hanssens, K. Helsen, D.L. Hoffman, D.B. Holt, K.E. Jocz, K.L. Keller, R.A. Kerin, V. Kumar, M.B. Leiberman, V. Mittal, D.B. Montgomery, T.P. Novak, R.W. Palmatier, J.A. Quelch, B. Rajan, J.S. Raju, R.C. Rao, B.T. Ratchford, J.H. Roberts, D.D. Rucker, G. Sabnis, R. Sethuraman, V. Shankar, G. Tellis, R. Varadarajan, P.C. Verhoef, R.S. Winer

    This authoritative, comprehensive, and accessible volume by leading global experts provides a broad overview of marketing strategy issues and questions, including its evolution, competitor analysis, customer management, resource allocation, dynamics, branding, advertising, multichannel management, digital marketing and financial aspects of marketing.

    The Handbook comprises seven broad topics. Part I focuses on the conceptual and organizational aspects of marketing strategy while Part II deals with understanding competition. Customers and customer-based strategy, marketing strategy decisions, and branding and brand strategies are covered in the next three parts while Part VI looks at marketing strategy dynamics. The final part discusses the impact of marketing strategy on performance variables such as sales, market share, shareholder value and stakeholder value. All of the chapters in this Handbook offer in-depth analyses of research developments, provide frameworks for analyzing key issues, and highlight important unresolved problems in marketing strategy. Collectively, they provide a deep understanding of and key insights into the foundations, antecedents and consequences of marketing strategy.

    This compendium is an essential resource guide for researchers, doctoral students, practitioners, and consultants in the field of marketing strategy.

  • Communication and Promotion Decisions in Retailing: A Review and Directions for Future Research

    Ailawadi…Shankar JR 2009

    by Kusum Ailawadi, J. P. Beauchamp, Naveen Donthu, Dinesh Gauri, and Venkatesh Shankar

    Communication and promotion decisions are a fundamental part of retailer customer experience management strategy. In this review paper, we address two key questions from a retailer’s perspective: (1) what have we learned from prior research about promotion, advertising, and other forms of communication and (2) what major issues should future research in this area address. In addressing these questions, we propose and follow a framework that captures the interrelationships among manufacturer and retailer communication and promotion decisions and retailer performance. We examine these questions under four major topics: determination and allocation of promotion budget, trade promotions, consumer promotions and communication and promotion through the new media. Our review offers several useful insights and identifies many fruitful topics and questions for future research.

    Keywords: Communication; Promotion; Advertising; New media: Resource allocation; Trade promotion; Consumer promotion; Accounting; Legal issues.

  • Effective Marketing Science Applications: Insights from the ISMS Practice Prize Papers and Projects

    Lilien, Roberts, Shankar 2013

    by Gary L. Lilien, John Roberts, and Venkatesh Shankar

    This article is forthcoming in Marketing Science.

    From 2003 to 2012, the ISMS Practice Prize/Award competition has documented 25 impactful projects, with associated papers appearing in the Marketing Science. This article reviews these papers and projects, examines their influence on the relevant organizations, and provides a perspective on the diffusion and impact of marketing science models within the organizations. We base our analysis on three sources of data—the articles, authors’ responses to a survey, and in-depth interviews with the authors. We draw some conclusions on how marketing science models can create more impact without losing academic rigor, while maintaining strong relevance to practice.

    We find that the application and diffusion of marketing science models are not restricted to the well-known choice models, conjoint analysis, mapping, and promotional analysis—there are very effective applications across a wide range of managerial problems using an array of marketing science techniques. There is no one successful approach and, while some factors are correlated with impactful marketing science models, there are a number of pathways by which a project can add value to its client organization. Simpler, easier-to-use models that offer robust and improved results can have stronger impact than academically sophisticated models. Organizational buy-in is critical and can be achieved through high-level champions, in-house presentations and dialogs, doing pilot assignments, involving multi department personnel, and speaking the same language as the influential executives. And we find that intermediaries often, but not always, play a key role in the transportability and diffusion of models across organizations.

    While these applications are impressive and reflect profitable academic-partnerships, changes in the knowledge base and reward systems for academics, intermediaries and practitioners are required for marketing science approaches to realize their potential impact on a much larger scale than the highly selective sample that we have been able to analyze.

    Key words: marketing models, decision-making, marketing analytics, implementation.

  • Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty in Online and Offline Environments

    Shankar_Smith_Rangaswamy_IJRM_2003

    by Venkatesh Shankar, Amy Smith, and Arvind Rangaswamy

    This article was published in the International Journal of Research in Marketing, 20 (2, 2003), 153-175.

    In this paper, we address the following questions that are becoming increasingly important to managers in service industries: How are the levels of customer satisfaction and loyalty for the same service different when chosen online versus offline? What are the unique drivers of online customer satisfaction? How is the relationship between customer satisfaction and loyalty in the online environment different from that in the offline environment? We propose a conceptual framework and develop hypotheses about the drivers of customer satisfaction and loyalty, the relationship between satisfaction and loyalty, and the role of the online medium. We test the hypotheses through a simultaneous equation model using two data sets of online and offline customers in the lodging industry.

    The results show that whereas the levels of customer satisfaction for a service chosen online is the same as when it is chosen offline, loyalty to the service provider is higher when the service is chosen online than offline. Service encounter satisfaction for a service chosen online is higher when information content at the web site is deeper. In addition, the online medium also strengthens the relationship between overall satisfaction and loyalty, and appears to foster a reciprocal relationship between loyalty and satisfaction, such that satisfaction increases loyalty, which in turn, reinforces satisfaction.  These results suggest that, contrary to popular fears, the online medium provides an attractive opportunity for service providers to acquire loyal customers. The results imply that online service providers should not only invest in service quality improvement initiatives, but also maintain web sites that offer a good online experience for their customers. They should also focus directly on loyalty-building initiatives, such as frequent online user reward programs.