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After over three decades of debate, the issue of international advertising standardisation versus adaptation has not resulted in clear conclusions. Previous research indicated that the practice of total standardisation was the exception rather than the rule. Therefore, it became apparent that analytical focus should be placed more firmly on modified forms of standardisation. To this end, a highly sensitive and objective model was developed and used to obtain detailed and precise comparisons between advertisements deployed in different national markets. The results of this study demonstrate that “standardisation” is a flexible policy that can be adapted to a range of circumstances and differing market conditions and not a niche policy that is only suitable for certain types of brands in certain types of market. The study also suggests that rather than focusing on the benefits of total adaptation or total standardisation, the debate should focus more on the benefits applicable to the exact forms of standardisation practiced.

Reports on a study which investigated why multinational companies standardize the advertising executions deployed throughout the various national markets in which they operate. Economies of scale and belief in international consumer and market convergence were found to be of less influence than had been indicated in prior studies. Rather the indications were that policy on international advertising is influenced by a broad range of organizational and strategic issues, particularly a perceived need for increased central control over the marketing policies of the national subsidiaries. In some instances it could be argued that standardization is a consequence, or even a means of, increased central control, rather than resulting from detailed analysis of the specific costs and benefits of standardization. Also finds that there are many forms of standardization and the motives of the sampled companies concerned varied to some extent, according to the form and degree of standardization practised.

Gaining and sustaining a strategic competitive advantage in retailing requires knowledge of the attributes consumers value and use to discriminate between stores and why those attributes are important. Although many store image studies define discriminant attributes, few have attempted to explain either how these attributes lead to the satisfaction of personal shopping motives or how knowledge of these can be used to focus and reinforce a strategic position. The purpose of this article is to propose and examine a method to help retailers understand grocery consumers' store choice processes as a function of the linkages between store attributes, shopping motives and risk dimensions which can help them develop a more coherent and clearer positioning strategy.

Means‐end chain analysis is used to explore how grocery customers build a mental link between store attributes, the consequences of not having those attributes, and the motives for seeking them.

The findings suggest that shoppers' motives are linked to only four main risk dimensions, namely time, financial, psychosocial and physical, and we present evidence for reassessing store positioning strategies, giving more emphasis to the risks involved.

The article suggests that the prime heuristics that consumers use to compare grocery stores are the four main risk dimensions. While consumers may think heuristically (i.e. deal in general perceptions of stores rather than comparing stores in every detail), retailers act in detail, and knowledge of how store attributes are related to these risk dimensions is therefore useful to retail marketers in developing and positioning stores. The findings also confirm the usefulness of means‐end chain analysis as a methodology for assessing retail store motivations, because it allows researchers to define all the store attributes which are important to respondents, gain responses in the respondent's language, and examine the underlying motives to which tangible and intangible attributes are related. Furthermore, the constructs/elements elicited can be used to feed into Kelly's repertory grid analysis, which is useful in positioning studies for determining a company's competitive position on one of the four main positioning dimensions.

The work extends the theory of means‐end chains by highlighting the relationship between the terminal values it produces and risk dimensions. The research is relevant to retail marketers in terms of store development and personnel training, and to consumer researchers interested in risk measurement.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role that agency culture, training, and supervision play in the rates of on-the-job seatbelt use among peace officers, as well as other officer safety-related driving concerns such as cell phone use, Mobile Data Terminal use, and other sources of distraction.

Based on semi-structured interviews with California peace officers.

This study found an array of agency culture issues related to on-duty collisions, including distraction, failure to follow policy or procedure, fatigue, self-selection processes among officers and agencies, supervision and field training processes, morale issues, and family/lifestyle issues.

To explain these agency culture findings, this paper introduces the concept of the “banality of risk” to understand why many officers choose not to use risk-attenuating equipment. The findings are suggestive of a set of best practices that agencies could consider regarding in-vehicle officer safety.