Idea posted: March 2014

Institutions: University of North Carolina at Charlotte Belk College of Business    The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania    Duke University Fuqua School of Business   

In the real world, brands are rarely seen alone.  Whether on television, radio, or in print, brands are usually surrounded by other brands — numerous advertisements fill the pages of…

Idea posted: March 2014

Institutions: Tuck School of Business   

While research shows that people generally view CSR activities favourably, the question remains whether that positive attitude changes consumer behaviour. To answer this question, a team of professors from Dartmouth’s…

Idea posted: March 2014

Institutions: Henley Business School   

Customer effort research has been around since the 1940s but the debate gained momentum following a 2010 article, ‘Stop Trying to Delight Your Customers’, in the Harvard Business Review (HBR). In…

Idea posted: March 2014

Institutions: Washington University Olin Business School    University of Toronto Rotman School of Management   

Consumers often have a choice between products that are convenient or easy- to-use and products that offer greater functionality but are less convenient. When making a purchase that involves a longer time…

Idea posted: February 2014

Institutions: Georgetown University    UCLA Anderson School of Management   

What makes a message persuasive? Marketing departments everywhere are constantly looking for the answer to this question and much research has been conducted on this subject; previous research has shown…

Idea posted: February 2014

Institutions: Harvard Business School    University of Toronto Rotman School of Management   

Outsourcing is no longer just an operational issue. As globalization takes hold and more companies shift more activities to suppliers in emerging economies, outsourcing is now a strategic concern. Slowly,…

Idea posted: February 2014

Institutions: Hebrew University of Jerusalem    The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania   

In 1995, Japanese telecommunications giant NTT agreed to distribute a new product featuring new technology, but rejected the offer of exclusivity to the Japanese market. Going against the conventional wisdom…

Idea posted: January 2014

Institutions: New York University Stern School of Business    Carnegie Mellon University   

Researchers from New York University’s Stern School of Business and Carnegie Mellon University studied the effects of product rankings in three areas: the direct impact of rankings on consumer behaviour…

Idea posted: January 2014

Institutions: Cranfield University School of Management   

There has been a growing trend in recent years for suppliers to differentiate their products through services, rather than solely through products. Consider the case of Apple, whose market share…