We study the relative importance of online word of mouth and advertising on firm performance over time since product introduction. The current research separates the
volume
of consumer-generated ...online word of mouth (OWOM) from its
valence
, which has three dimensions-attribute, emotion, and recommendation oriented. Firm-initiated advertising content is also classified as attribute or emotion advertising. We also shed light on the role played by advertising content on generating the different types of OWOM conversations. We use a dynamic hierarchical linear model (DHLM) for our analysis. The proposed model is compared with a dynamic linear model, vector autoregressive/system of equations model, and a generalized Bass model. Our estimation accounts for potential endogeneity in the key measures. Among the different OWOM measures, only the valence of recommendation OWOM is found to have a direct impact on sales; i.e., not all OWOM is the same. This impact increases over time. In contrast, the impact of attribute advertising and emotion advertising decreases over time. Also, consistent with prior research, we observe that rational messages (i.e., attribute-oriented advertising) wears out a bit faster than emotion-oriented advertising. Moreover, the volume of OWOM does not have a significant impact on sales. This suggests that, in our data, "what people say" is more important than "how much people say." Next, we find that recommendation OWOM valence is driven primarily by the valence of attribute OWOM when the product is new and driven by the valence of emotion OWOM when the product is more mature. Our brand-level results help us classify brands as consumer driven or firm driven, depending on the relative importance of the OWOM and advertising measures, respectively.
In this research, the authors present a modeling framework for balancing resources between customer acquisition efforts and customer retention efforts. The key question that the framework addresses ...is, "What is the customer profitability maximizing balance?" In addition, they answer questions about how much marketing spending to allocate to customer acquisition and retention and how to distribute those allocations across communication channels.
Interest in customer reacquisition has increased as firms embrace the concept of customer relationship management. Using survey and transactional data from defected subscribers of a publishing ...company, we investigate how defected customers evaluate their propensity to return to the company
prior to
any win-back offer. We introduce a new variable for relationship marketing, general willingness to return (GWR), and show that it is strongly and positively related to the actual return decision and the duration of the restarted relationship. Combining attribution theory elements with existing win-back explanations, which focus on economic, social, and emotional value perceptions, provides a more comprehensive understanding of the factors that influence the GWR to a former relationship. Importantly, we learn that regardless of whose fault it is, if the reasons for the relationship termination can change or are preventable and the firm can control those changes, then the defected customer has a higher general willingness to return to the former relationship. Also, we show that the duration of time absence before relationship revival moderates the impact of GWR on second relationship duration. Furthermore, we demonstrate that satisfaction prior to defection and the length of time absence provide a reasonable basis for distinguishing defected customers who differ in their GWR. By applying our findings, we derive recommendations for firms on how to position marketing communications to recapture defected customers according to their general willingness to return.
As managers and academics increasingly raise issues about the real value of CRM, the authors question its direct and unconditional performance effect. The study advances research on CRM by ...investigating the role of critical mechanisms underlying the CRM-performance link. Drawing from the sources → positions → performance framework, the authors build a research model in which two strategic postures of firms—differentiation and cost leadership—mediate the effect of CRM on firm performance. This investigation also contributes to the literature by drawing attention to the differential impact of CRM in diverse industry environments. The study analyzes data from in-depth field interviews and a large-scale, cross-industry survey, and results reveal that CRM does not affect firm performance directly. Rather, the CRM-performance link is fully mediated by differentiation and cost leadership. In addition, CRM’s impact on differentiation is greater when industry commoditization is high.
Throughout a distribution channel, multiple sales platforms and technologies are leveraged to expand market reach and manage offering assortments. Yet, the literature is limited on how buyers who are ...channel intermediaries make purchase decisions across sales platforms particularly when platforms vary in their degree of technology enablement. This research investigates how B2B buyers respond to the offering, in terms of numerical assortment and quality, when the sales environments vary in their level of technology enablement. We examine the buyer's sales platform choice, purchase quantity, and tackle the seller's challenge of assortment integration. Buyers have a choice of purchasing from a low-tech platform where buyers are in-person and an auction determines sales, an Internet-enabled platform where remotely located buyers are price takers, and a hybrid platform that has a high level of technology enablement such that co-located and remotely located potential buyers simultaneously bid on the offering. A Hidden Markov Model captures the impact of different need states on buyers' decisions. Our findings: (1) uncover three distinct buyer profiles that have unique sales platform preferences and multiplatform buying tendencies that relate to their comfort with technology-enabled markets, (2) show that buyers exhibit distinct and dynamic needs that affect their sales platform choices and response to the platform offerings, (3) reveal that buyers experience diminishing returns to product assortment and condition at varying rates depending on their need state. Supporting our key findings, we find evidence of similar behaviors among consumers in a B2C multichannel context that includes an omnichannel. Additionally, we offer recommendations for B2B sellers regarding allocating and adjusting assortments to drive sales platform choice and revenues per buyer.
•Buyers desire for assortment can be non-linear.•Multichannel usage is more likely in formats that are similar in their degree of technology enablement (i.e., there is technology stickiness); the tendency to use one type of channel is governed by information needs which is related to the degree of digitalization of the channel.•When numerical assortments are manipulated in the high technology-enabled platform, this platform acts as a funnel by migrating buyers to other platforms that have less technology enablement.•Technology-enabled sales platforms are beneficial when they can make the buyer more confident in their purchase either in terms of price (e.g., fixed price Internet platform) or funnel buyers to platforms where they can physically inspect the offering and gain confidence.
The topic of standardization of international marketing programs represents an important issue faced by managers of global firms and has significant research attention. Although previous research has ...established that standardization enhances performance outcomes, more recent theorizing suggests that this may not always be the case. However, empiri-cal investigators have paid little systematic attention to moderating conditions. The major purpose of this article is to investigate the organizational factors that moderate the standardization–performance relationship and, thus, to explore the types of firm for which standardization is particularly beneficial. The authors examine survey data from 489 firms, and their results indicate that the standardization–performance link is significantly stronger for large firms with a homogeneous product offering, high levels of global market penetration, a cost leadership strategy, and strong coordination capabilities. The authors conclude that managers evaluating the adequacy of a standardization strategy should consider the list of contingencies advanced in this research.
Sepsis is a highly lethal disorder characterized by widespread apoptosis-induced depletion of immune cells and the development of a profound immunosuppressive state. IL-7 is a potent antiapoptotic ...cytokine that enhances immune effector cell function and is essential for lymphocyte survival. In this study, recombinant human IL-7 (rhIL-7) efficacy and potential mechanisms of action were tested in a murine peritonitis model. Studies at two independent laboratories showed that rhIL-7 markedly improved host survival, blocked apoptosis of CD4 and CD8 T cells, restored IFN-gamma production, and improved immune effector cell recruitment to the infected site. Importantly, rhIL-7 also prevented a hallmark of sepsis (i.e., the loss of delayed-type hypersensitivity), which is an IFN-gamma- and T cell-dependent response. Mechanistically, rhIL-7 significantly increased the expression of the leukocyte adhesion markers LFA-1 and VLA-4, consistent with its ability to improve leukocyte function and trafficking to the infectious focus. rhIL-7 also increased the expression of CD8. The potent antiapoptotic effect of rhIL-7 was due to increased Bcl-2, as well as to a dramatic decrease in sepsis-induced PUMA, a heretofore unreported effect of IL-7. If additional animal studies support its efficacy in sepsis and if current clinical trials continue to confirm its safety in diverse settings, rhIL-7 should be strongly considered for clinical trials in sepsis.
This paper aims to improve current knowledge on the commoditization of industries, a unique phenomenon of evolving marketing competition characterized by increasing homogeneity of products, higher ...price sensitivity among customers, lower switching costs, and greater industry stability. As commoditization is relevant to an ever-greater number of diverse industries, this research addresses two main questions: (1) How can managers assess their industry's level of commoditization to be better informed about their firm's competitive environment? and (2) How does the level of commoditization in an industry affect the effectiveness of marketing strategies? Initially, in-depth field interviews identified the characteristics of the commoditization phenomenon. Subsequently, a survey study among 141 companies from ten industries applied a measure to assess an industry's commoditization level. The results showed significant differences between high and low commodity markets in terms of the impact of three different strategic orientations on firm performance. The application of the value disciplines framework revealed that as commoditization increases, operational excellence and product leadership lose impact, while customer intimacy becomes a more vital performance driver. The results indicate that commoditization assessment may become a vital part of a firm's strategic efforts to address evolving marketing competition.
Peroxiredoxins (Prxs or Prdxs) are a large protein superfamily of antioxidant enzymes that rapidly detoxify damaging peroxides and/or affect signal transduction and, thus, have roles in ...proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. Prx superfamily members are widespread across phylogeny and multiple methods have been developed to classify them. Here we present an updated atlas of the Prx superfamily identified using a novel method called MISST (Multi-level Iterative Sequence Searching Technique). MISST is an iterative search process developed to be both agglomerative, to add sequences containing similar functional site features, and divisive, to split groups when functional site features suggest distinct functionally-relevant clusters. Superfamily members need not be identified initially-MISST begins with a minimal representative set of known structures and searches GenBank iteratively. Further, the method's novelty lies in the manner in which isofunctional groups are selected; rather than use a single or shifting threshold to identify clusters, the groups are deemed isofunctional when they pass a self-identification criterion, such that the group identifies itself and nothing else in a search of GenBank. The method was preliminarily validated on the Prxs, as the Prxs presented challenges of both agglomeration and division. For example, previous sequence analysis clustered the Prx functional families Prx1 and Prx6 into one group. Subsequent expert analysis clearly identified Prx6 as a distinct functionally relevant group. The MISST process distinguishes these two closely related, though functionally distinct, families. Through MISST search iterations, over 38,000 Prx sequences were identified, which the method divided into six isofunctional clusters, consistent with previous expert analysis. The results represent the most complete computational functional analysis of proteins comprising the Prx superfamily. The feasibility of this novel method is demonstrated by the Prx superfamily results, laying the foundation for potential functionally relevant clustering of the universe of protein sequences.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
This article presents a marketing communications process that uses customer relationship management ideas for multichannel retailers. The authors describe and then demonstrate the process with ...enterprise-level data from a major U.S. retailer with multiple channels. On the basis of the results, the authors develop an initial marketing communications strategy for the retailer.
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