Motivations for developing direct trade relationships

Purpose – This study aims to understand buyer and supplier motives for developing direct relationships with their trade partners.

Design/methodology/approach – A total of 18 in-depth interviews were conducted across Victoria and Tasmania (Australia); eight with retail buyers and ten with fresh produce suppliers. Both parties were involved in a direct relationship with their trade partner.

Findings – The research reveals a large variety of motivations that influence buyers and suppliers when deciding whether to operate in a direct or non-direct relationship with their trade partner. Motivations for both parties are remarkably similar, with buyers and suppliers ultimately attempting to minimise the inherent risk associated with operating in a volatile environment.

Research limitations/implications – The study may be limited by the fact that buyers and suppliers of different commodities were included in the study. In addition, the varied nature of the respondents' role may have impacted their judgment. The inability to interview dyads in all cases also limits the research.

Practical implications – This research has implications for both researchers and practitioners already involved in, or considering becoming involved in, a direct trade relationship. Clarification of motivations for bypassing intermediaries shows how both trade partners can minimise external risk and strengthen competitive advantage by assuming a direct relationship.

Originality/value – Extant research within this literary field is largely quantitatively based with researchers focusing on distinct relationship constructs, the definition of relationship marketing and the process of relationship development. In response to these limitations, this research adopted a qualitative approach in examining the core motivations for developing a direct trade relationship within the fresh produce industry.

The impact of technology on the supply of sport broadcasting

The demand for sport content by broadcasting organizations has undergone a major redefinition in the last 15-20 years. Television has become predominantly a private good, subject to deregulation and technological revolution. The traditional approach to presenting sport content predominantly live and exclusive through one distribution channel has evolved considerably into one represented now by a multi-faceted, multi-organizational approach. This paper will introduce the two markets of sport and broadcasting through the supply network of broadcasting rights and sports programming, and how this network is affected by the emerging broadcasting technology that is appearing in the digital environment. The era of digital broadcasting creates a significant alteration to the supply of broadcasting content developed by professional sport leagues, competitions and events. A number of emerging distribution system components linked to the digital environment can be identified and associated with sport broadcasting, all of which are having a profound impact on the way sport is being presented now and into the future. The various distribution components are introduced and examined in terms of their impact on the professional sport broadcasting markets. Each distribution component is addressed from the perspective of the regulatory, marketing, and economic impacts on channel management that apply.

The importance of overcoming cultural barriers in establishing brand names: an Australian company in China

Considering the importance of cross-cultural competencies in the context of rapid globalisation and the growth of China in the world economy, this paper uses case study methodology, to document the difficulties encountered by an Australian multinational beverage company, Foster’s, in attempting to establish its brand in China’s rapidly expanding market economy. Many of these related to culturally distinct attributes of the market, the consumer base and retail practices. The paper analyses these in terms of key concepts in marketing and cross-cultural business theory, in order to provide guidelines on how to overcome cultural barriers when establishing a foreign brand name in China. It also discusses the impact of cultural differences on brand loyalty after the establishment of the brand and on the sustainability of that brand. In attempting to assist foreign firms to succeed in the Chinese market, this paper offers suggestions that will help marketers to first understand the importance of cultural differences and then to succeed with further recommendations. Being a complex market and a market that is different from the Australian market, this is extremely valuable for those foreign brands entering China.

Conceptual framework of the precautionary principle approach in the decision-making process

This article reviews the precautionary principle as an approach in addressing decisions with far reaching environmental consequences under scientific uncertainty. The precautionary principle is intended to assist with structuring environmentally risky decisions toward sustainable development. It responds to the lack of scientific evidence of a potential environmental problem. There is currently no framework to assist with the process indicating the areas of importance and stages of decisionmaking. This paper suggests a framework to assist with the process of decision-making for complex environmental problems. The main areas of concern are the issues relating to the costs, risks, and benefits assessments. The main stages of the framework includes; definition of the problem, analysis of the potential environmental risks, assessments of specific anticipated legal, social, economic, political, and technological impacts, review of the key players (social, organisation and government) obligations, comparison of alternatives available, determination of accountability, implementation, decision making, monitoring and control processes.

Customer perceptions of responsible retailing in Australia

For retailers, the adoption of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) can act as a source of differentiation and affect reputation, customer loyalty, and competitive advantage. Despite these potential benefits, there has been limited empirical investigation of CSR within the retailing literature. This paper proposes that for retailers to implement CSR to strategic benefit, they must understand how their customers perceive the concept. This paper utilises Carroll’s (1979, 1991) four-part framework of corporate behaviours to operationalise the concept of CSR. To build on Carroll’s (1979, 1991) framework, respondents are asked to identify specific behaviours that constitute socially responsible behaviour for a retail supermarket. Results support the four corporate behaviours proposed by Carroll, but do not support the rank order of economic corporate behaviours being first and foremost. The findings suggest the inclusion of ‘supply chain management’ and ‘provision of customer value’ as additional factors for retailer CSR. From these findings, an initial model of retailer CSR is proposed for further investigation. For academics, such a model provides greater clarity in understanding CSR, allowing future development across alternative retail settings. The model provides retailers with a tool for implementing CSR for strategic benefit, by way of meeting customer CSR demands.

Review of the green consumers' perception formation about the environmentally safe products

This study examines the influence of various factors on the green purchase intention of customers in Australia. A conceptual model has been proposed and was subjected to empirical verification with the use of a survey of metropolitan and regional households in Victoria. The results indicate that corporate perception with respect of companies not placing higher priority on reducing pollution than increasing profitability was the significant predictor of customers’ negative overall perception toward environmentally safe products. The only positive contribution to customers’ perceptions was their past experience with the product. Other factors including the perception of environmentally safe products, product labels, and regulatory protection did not appear to influence customers’ perceptions. The results also suggest that customers are not tolerant of lower quality and higher prices of environmentally safe products. The present findings provide an understanding of the antecedents of green purchasing and highlight that green customers rely more on personal experience with the product rather than the information provided by the marketer.

Towards the confirmation of the MOA model : an applied approach

The aim of this paper is to develop a grounded understanding of the role that the MOA constructs play in influencing environmentally responsible  behaviour. Data collected is used to qualitatively confirm the MOA Model (Rothschild, 1999) in an environmental management application and provide a basis to inform the development of a comprehensive quantitative causal investigation. This study will seek to determine the specific contributions of each MOA factor in the study context. The case study chosen for this investigation is representative of other social marketing applications for the MOA framework. The case study concerns the behaviour of agrarian land managers with respect to the rabbit pest problem affecting rural Australia. The paper concludes by confirming the appropriateness of the constructs within the MOA Model.

Testing the circumplex model of emotions in a consumer setting

There is widespread belief that more positive emotional reactions to consumption situations will lead to positive business outcomes such as increased market share through the combination of increased loyalty, repeat purchase and strengthened reputation. However, most of the psychological work on emotions has not dealt directly with consumption experiences, but rather broader everyday experiences. In this study, psychological models of emotion were tested using magazine subscribers, specifically looking at their emotional responses to the magazine and the overall subscription package. The aim was to determine whether one of the major theories on emotional structure, the circumplex model, is relevant and consistent when applied specifically to a consumption experience. The results are positive, with the model being supported, and they provide insight into the structure and relations of different emotional responses (e.g., satisfaction, delight) consumers might have to a consumption experience.

How well are Australian business graduates prepared for the workplace?

The gap between business graduates' skills and competencies, and the graduates' needs in the workplace has been well researched and documented. However, no comprehensive model appears to have been developed on which to base curriculum decisions in this field. The current paper contributes to this area by investigating Australian graduates' skills needs in terms of the importance of nominated skills and satisfaction with the education received for those developed skills as perceived by graduates. Analysis of a survey shows that generic marketing skills are valued at a lower level than general attribute skills. Thus, university marketing programs may need to focus more on general skills and
personal attributes.

Publishing in socially oriented journals - the state of play in Asia

Purpose: This paper examines this issue by examining institutional publishing in six socially oriented marketing journals generally and then explores the performance within Asian institutions and those within Australia and New Zealand, in detail.

Design/Methodology/Approach: Authorships of Journal of Macromarketing, Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, Journal of Consumer Affairs, Journal of Non-Profit and Public Sector Marketing, International Journal of Non-Profit and Voluntary Sector Marketing, and Social Marketing Quarterly, from 1999-2003 were tracked, by institution and nationality of school. Results are reported for both number of authors and percent of authorship.

Findings: There is a dominance of publishing by North American Academics within the social area. Asia academics appear to be generally under-represented, based on the region’s size, although scholars in Australia and New Zealand perform relatively better than one might anticipate.

Research Limitations/Implications: A review of socially oriented publishing performance by institutions in Asia identifies that socially oriented research appears to be a focus in Australia and New Zealand across a range of institutions, but occurs less frequently in other Asian countries.

Practical Implications: Results are useful for understanding the role of socially oriented research among scholars in Asia and the Pacific. While Australia and New Zealand have made marks in socially oriented research, it appears to be a potential “growth area” for marketing scholars in Asia and the Pacific.

Originality/Value: This is the first paper to examine the role of geography in publishing among those interested in social issues in marketing.

Building a corporate socially responsible brand : an investigation of organizational complexity

Past research has suggested that developing CSR linked brands is a complex activity that needs to consider the social issues being addressed as well as multiple facets of organisational activities. This paper proposes that organisational activities need to be considered at four different levels – corporate brand, product/line brands, location/functional activities and supply chain issues. The four activities are discussed and implications for developing CSR-leveraged brands are explored.

Recover : A seven-element concept for evaluating recovery

In recent years empirical investigations into service recovery have examined the impact of firm’s recovery attempt on consumers’ post-purchase decisions. However, these measurements tended to be based on one or two outcomes ignoring the complexity of post purchase behavior. As such, there exist limited empirical studies of multiple consumer outcomes. This paper considers the need to examine the impact of service recovery processes using multiple customer-based factors. Seven outcome issues are identified and described in this paper that relate to the essence of a positive after-service affiliations of customer with the service provider.

Managing strategic versus tactical green collaborations : a nonprofit perspective

This exploratory study examines how non-profit organisations view collaborations with other organisations, based on the objective of the collaboration. This perspective has not been previously considered within the literature. Our findings suggest that non-profits believe there are differences in the management of collaborations depending on whether they are designed
to achieve strategic or tactical goals. The variables of power and managerial imbalance were found to impact on the perceived effectiveness of strategic collaborations while organisational compatibility was found to impact on the perceived effectiveness of tactical collaborations.

Special events in the nonprofit sector

Learning Objectives
On completion of this chapter; thereader will
• Define special events and understand the role of special events in the
nonprofit sector
• Describe the different types of nonprofit events
• Describe the factors that influence the objectives of special events
• Understand the issues involved in producing special events
• Understand the risks associated with hosting special events
• Describe the procedures involved in managing special events
• Understand the importance of marketing and public relations for special events in the nonprofit sector