Neben Produkten und Marketingkommunikation sind es insbesondere die Mitarbeiter eines Unternehmens, die die Marke nach außen hin verkörpern und durch ihr Verhalten das Markenerlebnis der Kunden wesentlich prägen. Die wissenschaftliche Auseinandersetzung mit Fragen, wie das Mitarbeiterverhalten die Wahrnehmung der Markenpersönlichkeit beeinflusst, steht erst am Anfang. In diesem Beitrag werden die Möglichkeiten beleuchtet, mithilfe von Sprache Aspekte der Markenpersönlichkeit zu kommunizieren. Ergebnisse verschiedener empirischer Studien zeigen, dass die Wahrnehmung der Mitarbeiterpersönlichkeit durch den gezielten Einsatz sprachlicher Stimuli variiert werden kann, und dass diese Veränderung den Mitarbeiter in der Kundenwahrnehmung als passender zur Marke erscheinen lässt.
This study forecasts the market potential of electric vehicles by looking at 14 categories of vehicle. It weighs the individual priorities against social preferences and a selection process is used to analyse priorities and barriers to allow individuals considered potential electric vehicle buyers to be identified.
Primarily because of the hypothetical character of interview situations, respondents are often unable to state their true willingness to pay (WTP). This inability results in the so-called hypothetical bias. To address this bias, incentive-compatible methods have been proposed, but such methods are applicable only to real products. We propose a new method for measuring WTP based on disposable cash and specificpurpose vouchers that are earmarked for particular goods that, contrary to incentive-compatible methods,
can be used for hypothetical products and services that are less affected by the hypothetical bias. Empirical studies show that the new procedure provides WTP results that are equal to the results of alternative incentive-compatible elicitation procedures, such as the Vickrey auction and the Becker-DeGroot-Marschak (BDM) procedure.
Brand personality has been suggested as an important source of consumer-based brand equity, yet empirical research on the relation between brand personality perceptions and brand equity is scarce. This article examines the link between masculine and feminine brand personality and brand equity as well as the underlying process of this relationship. Study 1 reported herein involves 140 existing brands and demonstrates that high levels of brand masculinity and femininity relate positively to brand equity, and that this relation is not moderated by participants' sex. Study 2 demonstrates that brand gender accounts for brand equity ratings above and beyond other brand personality dimensions. Study 3 identifies ease of categorization as the underlying mechanism for the relationship between brand gender and brand equity.
Differentiated product models are predicated on the belief that a product's utility can be derived from the summation of utilities for its individual attributes. In one framed field experiment and two natural field experiments, we test this assumption by experimentally manipulating the order of attribute presentation in the product customization process of custom?made suits and automobiles. We find that order affects the design of a suit that people configure and the design and price of a car that people purchase by influencing the likelihood that they will accept the default option suggested by the firm.
Information is presented about a paper discussed at the Advances in Consumer Research North American Conference on choice demotivation in the car-buying process. Topics in the paper include the importance of order and variety in sequential choice, emotional energy, and consumer willingness to pay. Two field experiments at an Audi car dealership are discussed as well.
Business-to-business (B2B) marketplaces offer the potential of substantial increases in efficiency and transparency in their target industries. We argue that to realize this potential they must form strategic partnerships. While the need to partner with companies in their target industries has been coming to the forefront with the rise of industry-sponsored marketplaces, firms find that there is a further need to partner with other organizations to create more extensive and adaptive service offerings. The goal of this research is to support the view that forming strategic partnerships with specialized service providers and other marketplaces is an important means for marketplaces to create successful business models and to improve their competitive position. We examine the relevant theory and explore the status of partnering activities of European B2B marketplaces, which we surveyed from April to May 2001. Additionally, we report on a set of in-depth interviews with the management of a number of major B2B marketplaces. The results support our view that partnering skills are critical for B2B marketplaces to improve their competitive position.
