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Rural Marketing, Sales and Distribution Management, Salesperson Motivation, Channel Management.

The case can be used in sales management, channel management and rural marketing courses offered to graduate students of MBA degrees. In the sales management courses, the emphasis is on understanding the typical tasks that the rural salesperson is required to conduct. The case can be used to design a suitable motivation-mix for a rural salesperson after analysing their approach towards work. In a rural marketing course, the case can be used to understand the sales and distribution management of fast-moving consumer good products in rural India. The case can be used in channel management courses to design an appropriate channel structure in the rural market in India and utilized for managing the distributors’ salesforce for effective and improved market coverage in rural areas.

Candy Confectioneries Private Limited started its operations in 1995, and was one of the largest confectionery players in India with a market share of 20 per cent. The company had achieved sales of Rs 20bn in 2014 and had 15 confectionery brands in the market. The company was also trying hard to establish itself in the snacks category. The company had nationwide operations, and it was important for the company to expand into the rural market. It served its markets through a comprehensive urban and rural distribution setup. In the rural distribution network, the rural sales representatives (RSRs) played a key role and perhaps were one of the most critical factors in covering the rural market. The RSR system was typical to suit the requirement of product-market coverage with its limitations. The case broadly profiles eight RSRs who were engaged to cover a specific territory in the State of Bihar in India. It also describes their approaches to work and complexities emerging thereof in achieving the best results for the organization.

The case has the following learning objectives: Understanding the design of sales and distribution channel structure followed for distribution and selling of confectionery products in rural India. Examining whether the existing system is adequate to achieve the goals of the firm. Evaluating the performance of each salesperson and identifying common factors to formulate the salesforce policies. Arriving at a suitable motivation-mix for the rural salesperson.

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CSS 8: Marketing.

This study aims to examine the influence of lean management practices on organizational process effectiveness and maturity. The underlying assumption of this paper is that lean management practices may have a positive relation with the initiation and the adoption of a process management approach and be a first step to process management success.

Through a quantitative perspective, a survey was carried out in the Brazilian Federal Police with a valid sample of 991 participants. Data analysis was executed with confirmatory factor analysis and structural equations modeling.

Lean management practices have a positive influence on the Brazilian Federal Police process maturity and on process effectiveness. Process maturity has a positive impact on process effectiveness. The results extend the applicability of lean management practices in the public service scenario. The results will decrease the high failure rates in process transformation projects.

The main limitation of this study is that the researchers could not maintain full control of the research respondents because the data collection was carried out online.

Considering a scenario of increased pressure to upgrade organizational decisional process in the public sector and to offer better public services, the lean management practices can effectively contribute to the development of strategies and actions that will enhance a more effective public service management reality.

This study may contribute as a source of empirical data for future research in other national public organizations and may assist others to redesigning its strategies and actions to achieve excellence in decision-making, by adopting a more agile quality public service with less costs and waste.

New measurement and structural models were defined to analyze lean management practices in the public service as the predictors of organizational process maturity and effectiveness. The discussion on lean management practices, as a first step in process approach applicability, enhances a new process-based management perspective.

The purpose of this paper is to identify and discuss the key conceptual and empirical inter‐relationships between service encounter variables of perceived agent service quality, overall customer satisfaction and perceived value and their relationships with behavioural outcomes of repurchase, recommendation and complaint intentions in the life insurance services in India.

A total of 258 valid responses were generated from existing customers of life insurance services on the selected variables. The relationships were tested by structural equation modeling using AMOS version 4.0. The initial hypothesized model was rejected and a model was modified till acceptable fit was achieved.

The results provide empirical support for the comprehensive nature of direct and indirect effects of service quality, value perceptions and overall satisfaction on future behavioural intentions (BI). The study identifies the key agent service quality attributes of product knowledge, empathy, reliability and trust as important antecedents of favourable behavioural outcomes. Agent service quality, satisfaction and value perceptions have significant affect on recommendation intentions.

This is the first study using multivariate and composite model of inter relationship of service encounter constructs and their affect on both favourable and unfavourable BI.

The purpose of this paper is to empirically test a research model of consumer consequences of e‐service quality (e‐SQ) perceptions of general web site users.

The dimensions of e‐SQ are extracted and validated through exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. The uni‐dimensional model of e‐SQ, consisting of web site attributes of ease of access, flexibility, and reliability, is then tested by structural equation modelling using AMOS 4.0 for its linkages with e‐satisfaction (e‐SAT), perceived value, and e‐loyalty‐linked behavioral intentions, i.e. repurchase and recommendation intentions.

It was found that e‐SQ is a direct antecedent of perceived value, perceived value in turn significantly affects e‐loyalty‐related consumer intentions of repurchase and positive recommendations. e‐SAT is a direct antecedent of positive recommendation intentions. However, e‐SQ was not found to have any consequential relationship with e‐SAT or direct links with behavioral intentions of e‐loyalty.

The proposed model is empirically validated with self‐selected participants and therefore the results need to be further supported through replication with varied consumer and cultural contexts.

The model of e‐SQ and its consequences would help practitioners frame marketing strategies for web sites of e‐services, which are content rich in India, to enhance consumer loyalty and other favorable behavioral intentions.

The multi‐variate comprehensive model of e‐SQ and its consequences has not been tested earlier in the e‐services context. The research extends the modelling of service quality and its consequences into the e‐services context.

The paper intends to identify the causes or gaps in transfer of managerial knowledge between academia and practitioners and to develop a framework that overcomes the gaps through knowledge management, information technology and human resource practices. The paper aims to suggest a strategic approach based on the knowledge transfer cycle.

The paper presents the development of a conceptual model based on existing research findings and conceptual models in the literature combined with the experience of academicians.

There has been very little transfer of research knowledge due to the inherent barriers in its creation, diffusion, adoption and utilization by practitioners. By enhancing the industry orientation of academicians and adopting systematic processes of review and dissemination, early adopters (practitioners) can experiment and learn to apply theoretical knowledge, which, when supported by institutional mechanisms, of human resource management, information technology and knowledge management (KM), can minimize or eliminate knowledge transfer gaps, leading to improved competitiveness and performance of the firm.

The framework has been developed from concepts of KM and transfer and learning and needs to be validated empirically.

The framework developed can guide researchers in their approach toward knowledge creation so that their output is adopted by industry and thus has value. Practitioner industries can develop practices based on the framework to enhance their ability to leverage academic knowledge for competitive advantage.

The paper would enable the framing of policies by higher education institutions and industry to facilitate more effective and efficient transfer of knowledge between researchers and practitioners, leading to enhanced organizational competitive advantage, which would benefit society.

The paper provides a framework based on the knowledge transfer cycle model for enhancing the effectiveness and efficiency of research knowledge adoption and utilization.

The purpose of this paper is to extract and validate the dimensions of service quality in retail banking services in India by adopting an integrated and hierarchical perspective of service quality determinants.

The paper empirically validates a parsimonious (multi-dimensional and multi-level) model of service quality in retail banking services in India. The analysis was conducted using structural equation modeling. A hypothesized second-order model was tested and compared with a first-order model of service quality. The dimensions were extracted through exploratory factor analysis and validated through confirmatory factor analysis.

The second-order service quality model was accepted based on parsimony as it consisted of five primary dimensions: Service delivery (describing the efficiency with which the service is provided), tangibles (the quality of physical service environment), reliability (the promise of right service being provided), core service (the attributes and features of the service product) and competence (the capability of employees and systems for providing the service). The second-order model enhances the understanding of the structure of service quality for retail banking services in India. The most important dimension was tangibles, especially the physical environment which facilitates efficient delivery of service.

The research provides support for a multi-dimensional second-order model of service quality in retail banking service in India. The results show that customers form perceptions of overall service quality which are reflected by five primary dimensions. The primary dimension of tangibles is the most influential.

Organizations need to measure and manage overall service quality perceptions to build trust and reinforce loyalty intentions among their customers. Banks need to adopt a multi-level approach to managing service quality perceptions, i.e. both at the dimensional level and organizational level.

This study would contribute to the enhancement of service quality outcomes in retail banking services in India which has a crucial role in the economic development.

The study proposes and validates a parsimonious and hierarchical model of service quality in the context of retail banking in Indian cultural context. Thus this research provides support to existing knowledge of service quality measurement and management and extends the understanding of its structure by validating the multi-level model in an emerging market context.

There is a debate in literature about the generalizability of the structure and the validity of the measures of Student Evaluation of Teaching Effectiveness (SET). This debate spans the dimensionality and validity of the construct, and the use of the measure for summative and formative purposes of teachers valuation and feedback. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the debate on the aforementioned issues. Specifically the paper tests the relationship of teacher’s “charisma” trait with a measure of SET consisting of the two dimensions of “lecturer ability” and “module attributes.” The market characteristics of the paper are those of an emerging market and cross-cultural context with a specific reference to India.

In this study, a two-dimensional scale of SET, which was originally developed by Shevlin et al. (2000) in their study in the UK, was empirically tested with Indian students and modified. Empirical data were collected from Indian students pursuing their MBA program in a north Indian university and statistical testing using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses was undertaken. The proposed relationship of a teacher’s “charisma” trait was tested as a reflective construct comprising of the two dimensions of SET with the help of the software package Amos ver 4.0.

The results indicate that the measure of SET is influenced by the teacher’s “Charisma” (trait), thus providing evidence of a halo effect. This raises the issue of validity of SET as an instrument for measuring teaching effectiveness (TE). The results provide support to the hypothesis that structure of SET is multidimensional along with the need for adapting the instrument in diverse cultural and market contexts.

This study contributes to the debate on the validity, structure and use of SET as an instrument for measuring TE in a developing market with cross-cultural implications such as India.