Search results

The librarian and researcher have to be able to uncover specific articles in their areas of interest. This Bibliography is designed to help. Volume IV, like Volume III, contains features to help the reader to retrieve relevant literature from MCB University Press' considerable output. Each entry within has been indexed according to author(s) and the Fifth Edition of the SCIMP/SCAMP Thesaurus. The latter thus provides a full subject index to facilitate rapid retrieval. Each article or book is assigned its own unique number and this is used in both the subject and author index. This Volume indexes 29 journals indicating the depth, coverage and expansion of MCB's portfolio.

Examines the interrelationship between price, product and investment policy and costs, interdependence of product and price polices, and the effect of fluctuation in economy. Posits that there are several intrusive factors operating on this system of relationships with respect to the sales market, e. g. the state of the economy, competition and technical advances. Identifies three strategies which may be employed in the case of changeover from one state to another. Concludes that the policy employed by an organization is dependent on the market position of a product and its durability pre‐recession.

While remanufactured products represent an increasingly researched phenomenon in the literature, not much is known about consumers' understanding and acceptance of such products. This study explores this issue in the context of the theory of perceived risk (TPR), investigating return policy leniency and distribution channel choice as potential factors to foster remanufactured products' sales.

This research utilizes an experimental design composed of a pre-test and a scenario-based main experiment to explore how return policy leniency might mitigate consumers' perceived risk and how their related purchase intention differs across two types of retail distribution channel structures (i.e. brick-and-mortar vs. online).

The investigation into the efficacy of return policy leniency within two retail distribution channel settings (i.e. brick-and-mortar vs. online) illustrates that providing a lenient return policy is an effective “cue” in increasing consumer purchase intention for remanufactured products. While prior literature has established that consumers value return policy leniency for new products, the authors provide empirical evidence that this preference also applies to remanufactured products. Notably, that return policy preference holds true in both channel settings (i.e. brick-and-mortar vs. online) under consideration. Additionally, and contrary to the authors’ predictions, consumers perceived remanufactured products sold via both channel settings as equally risky, thus highlighting that both are appropriate distribution channels for remanufactured products. Finally, while research on new products provides some initial guidance on consumer perceptions of quality and risk, the study provides empirical evidence into the difference of perceived risk with regard to new versus remanufactured products.

By employing the TPR, this research explored the role played by two supply chain management related factors (returns policy and channel structure) in reducing consumer's perceived risk and increasing purchase intention. In doing so, this study answers the call for more consumer-based supply chain management research in a controlled experimental research setting.

Takes the view that good theory needs to be grounded in the empirically‐researched world of practitioners. Attempts to build up a theoretical framework for analysing policy in the product range of the Scottish food‐processing industry and looks at perceived forms of corrective action by managers. Goes on to define product ranges as groups of related products but not really adequate. Discusses the product range and polices the outcomes which include range extensions, range reductions, range modification or, in the extreme, range elimination. Concludes by suggesting the framework can be used to begin a systematic analysis of the courses and consequences of product policy decisions.

The Nature of Business Policy Business policy — or general management — is concerned with the following six major functions:

To make a theoretical comparison between two scale‐inspection and warranty policies for weight‐quality, one practical and the other theoretically grounded.

Comparison is made in a Stackelberg game framework considering the consumer's as well as the manufacturer's viewpoint.

The practical policy is more profitable for the manufacturer than the theoretical policy in many cases.

The study confines itself to scale‐inspection and warranty policies, but the underlying approach used in this paper can also be applied to other topics.

The proposed model can also provide a lower bound for the warranty.

The study compares a practical policy with a theoretical one from both the consumer's and manufacturer's point of view.

This study aims to examine the relationship between the risk-aversion level of return policies and customer trust in online shopping in three countries in the Middle East.

In the first step, the different types of return policies of online shoppers and the risk-aversion level were determined by surveying 18 online shops and interviewing 21 customers. The risk-aversion level of these policies was found in the experts’ panel. In the second step, the experiences of 573 consumers when facing seller’s return messages, perceived risk and consumer trust in three countries (UAE, Iraq and Iran) were collected through a questionnaire. Finally, the gathered data were analyzed using structural equation modeling.

The results indicated that risk-averse return policies taken by online vendors led to lower consumer trust. Moreover, customer perceived risk mediated the relationship between return policies’ risk-aversion level and trust in Iraq and Iran. At the same time, there was no significant association between return policies and perceived risk in UAE. In addition, perceived risk wholly mediated the relationship between return policies’ risk aversion and trust in vendors in Iran, but this role was minor in Iraq.

Among the intercultural studies, especially in the Middle East, this is one of the first studies based on the marketing and sales management in an online shopper’s supply chain. Moreover, the investigation of return policies in online commerce is another innovative aspect of the present paper.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between the repurchase intention of a customer and his/her perception of various aspects of an e-tailer’s product return process, such as leniency, fairness and quality of the return process.

This research focuses on these aspects through the expectation disconfirmation theoretical lens, looking at the relationship between expectations shaped by the product return policy and the repurchase intention. This research collects data using a survey approach and analyzes it using structural equation modeling.

It was found that perceived return policy leniency, perceived fairness of the return experience and perceived quality of the return experience are important and supporting factors that influence a customer’s intention to be a return customer to e-tailers. Perceived leniency was found to not only be the most influential factor for return purchase intention but it also significantly impacted the perceived fairness and the quality of the return process. As a result, perceived leniency of the return policy had a “halo” effect on the other factors.

This suggests that the majority of an e-tailer’s effort should be expended determining a return policy and experience that is widely perceived as lenient as this will overall improve customer perception of the return process and increase repurchase intention.

This research extends research on lenient policy within the growing e-tailer sector by examining the return experience of the customer and subsequent repurchase intention based on multiple factors.

Reports on a study on the concept of car after‐sales service as applied in Germany. The study was undertaken by benchmarking four key players: Fiat AG, Nissan Deutchland, Toyota GmbH, and Ford Werk AG. Describes the factors responsible for the growing importance of the after‐sales sector in automobile marketing.

To achieve a full understanding of the role of marketing from plan to profit requires a knowledge of the basic building blocks. This textbook introduces the key concepts in the art or science of marketing to practising managers. Understanding your customers and consumers, the 4 Ps (Product, Place, Price and Promotion) provides the basic tools for effective marketing. Deploying your resources and informing your managerial decision making is dealt with in Unit VII introducing marketing intelligence, competition, budgeting and organisational issues. The logical conclusion of this effort is achieving sales and the particular techniques involved are explored in the final section.