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Consumer perception of corporate brand equity has primarily focused on product brand dimensions, neglecting considerations at the firm analysis level. Assessing corporate brands requires different criteria relevant to the competitiveness of companies, such as their prominence, management and meeting society’s demands. In this sense, this study aims to develop and validate a scale of corporate brand equity founded on consumer perceptions, transcending industry boundaries and comparing its relationship with companies' market share.

The authors used an integrative approach to clarify the construct’s domain, building on previous measures. They took several steps to select appropriate items, refine the measure, validate it through reliability tests and convergent and discriminant analyses, test the validity of the second-order formative structure of corporate brand equity and assess associations between first-order factors, the second-order factor and market share.

The model identifies three first-order dimensions of corporate brands (presence, outstanding management and responsible) that shape the second-order factor (corporate brand equity). They are directly related, but not proportionally, to market share, contributing to the general and joint assessment of the company’s competitive performance considering the consumer.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first attempt to develop a comprehensive measurement model of corporate brand equity that considers the firm level of analysis, combines metrics from previous research on corporate brand evaluation criteria and includes consumer perceptions of the company’s competitiveness, unifying branding theory with the theory of the marketing firm.

This paper examines the problems of launching new products onto the market, particularly healthy foods and fish products. Research was undertaken to investigate whether consumers would be prepared to purchase a new concept, i.e. polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) fed fish, premium price PUFA fish and different species of PUFA fish, specifically salmon, eel and sturgeon. The factors influencing the respondents’ decisions were investigated. The methodology utilised a questionnaire containing both qualitative and quantitative questions and several group discussions. It was found that the majority of the sample found the concept of PUFA fish acceptable and plausible and were prepared to pay a premium price, but the number of people prepared to purchase specific PUFA species was lower. Although health was given as a main reason for purchase other factors such as image, physical appearance of the whole animal, sensory properties, the type of product and the price also had to be satisfied for a clear purchase intention to be indicated.

Considers the history and current position of interpretive consumer research within the marketing paradigm. It focuses on the conflict that has developed between the positivist tradition and the relatively new interpretive approach. In doing so it considers the merits of interpretive research in consumer behaviour and criticisms made against it. Methodological issues centring on the trustworthiness of this type of research are explored, as well as the friction that traditionally has existed between art and science. An argument is made for an inclusive rather than exclusive approach, allowing the existence of differing approaches and assuming each has a contribution to make to the furtherance of consumer behaviour research.

This study aims to examine functional foods, a relatively recent development in the food industry, from the perspective of consumer decision-making. It deals specifically with consumers’ attitudinal dispositions towards such products and seeks an overall comprehension of the elements of decision-making factors that precede their purchase.

This exploratory work methodologically uses several elements of a grounded theoretical approach, in-depth interviews with consumers (and food industry experts) and, more importantly, the constant comparative method of analysis.

The analysis indicates that three levels of decision-making processing form consumers’ final functional food choices in either affirmative or negative ways. At the abstract level, consumers position functional foods within their food system. A “benefit negotiation” process acts as the central route of decision-making. Finally, during the “appraising” stage, a representation of each functional food is built. This representation should not be perceived as a rigid one as it can be influenced by personal characteristics, marketing activities and, more importantly, monetary considerations.

The paper proposes a decision-making framework that takes choice issues into consideration. It builds on (connecting and challenging) some of the existing consumer literature on functional foods. The findings indicate the dynamic nature of consumers’ decision-making which is shaped by motivational and other personal factors. The study identifies the concept of perceived efficacy of such foods, a concept discussed widely in previous literature, as a subordinate aspect when compared to consumers’ consumption motivation, perceived importance and perceptions of pricing. The paper discusses the implications for theory, research and practice.

Given the ways in which the research pressures on university staff are becoming seemingly ever greater, an issue of the European Journal of Marketing that is given over to a survey of the kinds of research initiatives which are currently being carried out is timely. The study which provides the basis for this was conducted between December 1994 and February 1995, with questionnaires being sent to staff in universities throughout Europe. At the time the final selection was made, a total of 150 responses had been received from 18 countries.

The concept of marketing is essentially that of matching supply and demand. Gordon Foxall explores marketing's domain and provides some pointers for both commercial and non‐commercial managers.

This article has been withdrawn as it was published elsewhere and accidentally duplicated. The original article can be seen here: 10.1108/EUM0000000004721. When citing the article, please cite: Gordon Foxall, (1984), “Marketing’s Domain”, European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 18 Iss: 1, pp. 25 - 40.

“The solution of marketing problems depends nowadays on the application of science to the processes of management,” says Gordon Foxall. Here, he describes how behavioural science is part of that solution.

Small firms may resist the general management role, claiming that they have neither the time nor resources to devote to such issues as market research or manpower planning. But Gordon Foxall argues that this insular attitude can be a positive bar to growth.

The hypothesis that broadly defined managerial functions can be subdivided on the basis of their members′ internal and external task orientations, and that the resulting subfunctions are, respectively, predominantly “adaptive” or “innovative” in terms of Kirton′s adaption‐innovation theory, was tested. Data from samples of British (N = 115), Australian (N = 123) and American (N = 131) mid‐career managers undertaking MBA programmes who completed the Kirton Adaption‐Innovation Inventory (KAI) and provided employment histories displayed the expected patterns of task orientation and cognitive style. Implications for adaption‐innovation theory and the management of organisational change are briefly discussed.