Copyright (c) 2009 All rights reserved. http://works.bepress.com/nborin Recent documents in Norm A. Borin en-us Tue, 22 Sep 2009 12:52:59 PDT 3600 http://works.bepress.com/nborin/8 http://works.bepress.com/nborin/8 Mon, 08 Dec 2008 12:09:47 PST A shelf management model was developed to assist retailers with the decision of which products to stock and how much space to allocate to those products. Due to the non-linearities in the formulation a closed form solution is not possible. Borin, et al. develop a search heuristic based on simulated annealing and compare the solution against a known optimum. A barrier to the use of such models is the fact that managers typically do not have access to error-free estimates of the parameters required for the model construction (shelf elasticities, search loyalty, and consumer preferences). In this article we analyze the degree of error that may be introduced into estimates of the parameters before the model yields assortments and shelf allocations that are inferior to those produced by the merchandising rule of thumb, SHARE-OF-SHELF = share-of-sales. The results indicate that judgmental estimates of parameters can vary by as much as 50 percent and still make application of the model useful. Norm A. Borin Articles http://works.bepress.com/nborin/7 http://works.bepress.com/nborin/7 Fri, 05 Dec 2008 17:11:14 PST As university curriculums inevitably change, their evolution typically occurs through a series of minor incremental adjustments to individual courses that cause the curriculum to lose strategic consistency and focus. This article demonstrates a zero-based approach to marketing curriculum innovation. The authors describe forces of change that led them to completely redesign their marketing curriculum, and they chronicle a replicable process that can be used to develop and launch an extensive transformation of an existing program that is focused yet adaptive. The process includes faculty commitment, consensus, collaboration, and compromise; stakeholder input; points of distinction; unifying themes; intended learning outcomes; instructional design; approval; a transition plan; launch; and evaluation and continuous improvement. The authors believe that departments of any size can implement a similar redesign process to develop a curriculum that is strategically consistent with the department's core competencies and focused on learning outcomes that are fundamental to any marketing career. Norm A. Borin Articles http://works.bepress.com/nborin/6 http://works.bepress.com/nborin/6 Thu, 04 Dec 2008 16:50:40 PST Two recent studies of manufacturer and retailer profitability in the food industry have raised questions about whether the widely cited, but empirically untested, shift of power from manufacturers to retailers has really occurred. Has the marketing community been operating under a misconception or are these studies flawed? This paper uses more complete measures of exercised and potential market power and a broader sample of industries and retail classes to address this critical question. Not only do our measures have strong theoretical grounding in the industrial organization, finance and accounting literature, they incorporate in them the impact of actions that have been commonly cited as illustrations of a power shift. Our analysis of 14 consumer good industries shows that only a few of them exhibit a shift in market power towards retailers. Further this apparent shift is highly influenced by a small number of retailers within a single retail class. Kusum L. Ailawadi Articles http://works.bepress.com/nborin/5 http://works.bepress.com/nborin/5 Thu, 04 Dec 2008 16:50:36 PST This paper develops and tests a conceptual model of the effects of store name, brand names and price discounts on consumers' evaluations (store image, brand quality perceptions, internal reference prices, and value perceptions) and purchase intentions. The moderating effects of consumer knowledge and prior ownership on the proposed relationships in the model are also explored. A store's perceived image is influenced by the store name and the quality of merchandise It carries. Results also indicate that internal reference price is influenced by price discounts, brand name, and a brand's perceived quality. The influence of price discounts on a brand's perceived quality was minimal. Price discounts, internal reference price, and brand's perceived quality exerted significant influence on perceived value. Perceived value and store image, in turn, positively influenced purchased intentions. High knowledge respondents are more influenced by brand name, while low knowledge respondents are more influenced by price discounts. Low knowledge consumers are also swayed by store name and brand name. Dhruv Grewal Articles http://works.bepress.com/nborin/4 http://works.bepress.com/nborin/4 Wed, 03 Dec 2008 13:21:17 PST Japanese trade practices continue to receive a great deal of discussion in both academic and trade circles. Foreign manufacturers of consumer goods believe that Japanese channel members do not provide foreign goods with the same level of support that domestic goods receive. Unfortunately, this has been difficult to validate since the level of analysis usually neglects merchandising support at the store level-where the success or failure of a product is often determined. A pilot study was conducted to develop a methodology that compared the relative levels of distribution and merchandising support for foreign and domestic brands. An intensive analysis of one product category in 131 Japanese retail stores was used to determine whether, after controlling for market share. foreign brands within the product category receive comparable treatment on a variety of merchandising indices. Results indicate that foreign products receive fair treatment. Norm A. Borin Articles http://works.bepress.com/nborin/3 http://works.bepress.com/nborin/3 Wed, 03 Dec 2008 13:07:38 PST We develop a category management model to aid retailers in the space constrained decisions of which products to stock (assortment) and how much shelf space to allocate to those products. The model is formulated as a constrained optimization problem with two basic decision variables: assortment and allocation of space to the items in the assortment. The non-linearities in the objective function and the zero-one decision variables disallow a closed form solution. We develop a heuristic solution procedure based on simulated annealing and test it on a problem with a known optimum. We also apply the technique to a larger problem without a known optimum. Finally, the solution found by simulated annealing is compared against a solution produced using a shelf allocation rule based on share of sales. Norm Borin Articles http://works.bepress.com/nborin/2 http://works.bepress.com/nborin/2 Wed, 03 Dec 2008 13:07:34 PST DPP (direct product profitability) has been heralded as one of the more important advances in supermarket shelf management, yet its acceptance by managers in the industry has been slow. Not only is DPP complex and expensive to calculate, but some question exists about whether decisions based on DPP are different from those based on traditional criteria such as gross margin and movement. A data base of nine dry-grocery categories is used here to compare DPP with other SKU indices. DPP is shown to lead to significantly different rankings in some categories, but not all. A Merchandising Attractiveness Index (MAl) is devised, based on a linear regression of gross margin, dollar sales, unit sales, and shelf area occupied, which yields predicted values of DPP that are virtually identical to DPP in the nine categories studied. This MAl may be a far less expensive way to implement the basic concept of DPP. It may also be more transparent to managers for basic merchandising decisions (price, space allocation, promotions). Norm Borin Articles http://works.bepress.com/nborin/1 http://works.bepress.com/nborin/1 Fri, 01 Aug 2008 08:02:28 PDT This article describes the development and implementation of assessment in our new outcome-based marketing curriculum (described fully in Borin, Metcalf, and Tietje 2007). Outcomes for the marketing curriculum were specified at the program, department, course, and lesson levels. Direct embedded assessments as well as indirect assessment methods were used to gauge student achievement. Results indicate that, on both self-reported (indirect) and direct, as well as non-embedded and embedded assessments, significant value-added learning occurred. We chronicle the stages in developing and implementing an assessment plan, and reflect on our experiences in the process to provide a roadmap for other marketing departments who also face the transition from teaching to learning. Norm A. Borin Articles