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The purpose of this paper is to investigate the largely unexplored conceptualisation of the brand-as-a-person metaphor in small-to-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by examining its potential relation with the SME owner-manager, the pathways to its creation and development and the intuitive nature of this relationship.

A grounded theory approach was used, and data were collected through a set of 36 semi-structured interviews with 30 SME owner-managers in various sectors in Mexico.

The results indicate that SME owner-managers intuitively humanise their brands. The study revealed four pathways to develop the brand-as-a-person metaphor in the SME context: through personality traits, tastes and preferences, abilities and knowledge and values, all suggesting that SMEs’ brand-as-a-person metaphors are largely an extension of their owner-managers.

The paper presents a theoretical framework that illustrates the four pathways to the creation and development of brand-as-a-person that are derived from the brand’s relationship with the SME owner-manager. The results of cross-industry semi-structured interviews are limited to a single culture context.

SME owner-managers should first undertake an introspective personal assessment of their intuitive and conscious decision-making, as SME owner-managers often make decisions in an intuitive way. The results suggest that they should act in a more conscious, responsible and rational way when formulating their brand strategies.

This is the first study to clarify the profound influence of SME owner-managers’ personal characteristics, including personality traits, tastes and preferences, abilities and knowledge and values, on the brand-as-a-person metaphor. This study also confirms the intuitive learning strategy formulation of SME owner-managers’ branding practices and SMEs’ need for a more rational approach to branding.

An overview of the success/failure literature in new product development points to a long list of critical success factors (CSF), which define what should be done to enhance new product success rates but not how to do it. The net result is failure rates which are marginal improvements on previous decades. The basic tenet of this paper is that the effective use of market information throughout the new product development process (NPD) can enhance the success rates of new products. We examine the contingencies affecting the perceived utility and use of market information in the NPD process and develop propositions describing these contingencies. The outcome of our discussion is a conceptual framework, which can aid research in this critical area of organisational activity.

An empirical examination of the product elimination decision‐making processes in American and British manufacturing firms was presented. Specifically, two areas of the product elimination decision‐making process are presented: (1) the precipitating circumstances which “triggered” the product elimination decision‐making process to begin; and (2) the variables used to make the elimination/retention are reviewed. It was concluded that the decision making processes were similiar in the two countries.

New Product Development, Research Takes the reader through the literature on research into the dynamics of new product development, considering and commenting on the variety of approaches reported in the literature, describing the plethora of “critical success factors” thrown up by the “generalist” studies in new product development to identify the recurring themes within the literature, and focusing on these prevalent research themes to explore the particular research interests within each. Finally, identifies gaps in the extant knowledge and points out areas for future research.

While a number of research studies have examined the factors determining the extent of use of marketing research information by managers, there is only scant empirical evidence on the link between marketing research activity and company performance. Aims to examine the nature of marketing research undertaken by manufacturing firms in a variety of industrial contexts and to explore its impact on competitive success. According to the results, and contrary to prior research, no direct link can be detected between performance and (1) whether marketing research is conducted/commissioned, (2) what information is collected, or (3) how it is obtained. Discusses the findings in the light of previous evidence and theoretical speculation concerning the role of marketing research as a determinant of company success, and makes a number of suggestions for future research.

Examines the nature of cross‐functional integration in the introduction of new products in a large industrial distributor. Using the paradigm of action science to effect a detailed case analysis, the investigation suggests that the approach to cross‐functional integration followed by researchers of new product development may not be the most useful way of conceptualizing and researching in a services setting. Specifically, the extent to which shared information, decision‐making agreement and decision‐making authority agreement are indicative of integration is questionable – particularly if investigated using survey research.

Strategic Marketing planning in the British pharmaceutical industry is discussed, with the key areas of marketing personnel, planning procedures and associated analytical tools being focused upon. The responses of a number of companies to whom detailed questionnaires were sent, are shown in tables. These detail, for example, who is responsible, in a particular company for strategic planning, issues, and use of analytical tools. The impression gained from these responses show an extremely marketing‐oriented industry.

Although some guidance exists for conducting qualitative research in the consumer field, there is very little accessible information for would‐be industrial market researchers. This is particularly unfortunate since the qualitative approach is arguably of greater relevance in industrial market research than in the consumer field. Similarly, there is a notable lack of advice on how to analyse the data, once collected. This article is intended as a practical guide to the execution and analysis of focused interviews in industrial market research.

Customer loyalty as a concept is inherently attractive to retail businesses. In many companies however, customer loyalty is operationalised through the activities of an often part‐time and transient workforce. The case illustration presented here, and in particular the analysis of employee responses on issues of loyalty scheme construction and operation, raises two main issues. For any retailer operating a loyalty scheme, these findings raise considerable management implications.