Although most senior manager agree that customer service is important, they find it difficult to explain exactly what it is and does. However we have identified three facets of customer service: customer service as (1) an activity, (2) performance level and (3) management philosophy....

In the last decades supply chain management has been explored from different perspectives fueling a myriad of research in the field. Although the literature on supply chain management (SCM) is vast, major gaps requiring scientific exploration still exist. Among these, interaction of branding and...

Mosquito repellants prevent mosquito bites and prevention of "man-mosquito contact" is a critical factor in transmission and spread of any disease through mosquitoes particularly in rural area. There has been a long standing 'bias' towards rural buyers. The rural markets are considered rigid in...

Das 'Herbeisteuern' einer erfolgreichen Entwicklung des Unternehmens in einer zunehmend komplexer werdenden Markt- und Umweltsituation zeigt sich als immer schwieriger. Das Ineinandergreifen unternehmensinterner und -externer Problem- und Wandlungszusammenhaenge kann nicht mehr mit einem strikt...

Whereas people are typically thought to be better off with more choices, studies show that they often prefer to choose from small as opposed to large sets of alternatives. We propose that satisfaction from choice is an inverted U-shaped function of the number of alternatives. This proposition is...

We report that the price of a 6.5oz Coke was 5¢ from 1886 until 1959. Thus, we are documenting a nominal price rigidity that lasted more than 70 years! The case of Coca-Cola is particularly interesting because during the 70-year period there were substantial changes in the soft drink industry...

In this paper we argue that pricing is all about price changes, and that the costs of price changes are often simultaneously subtle and substantial. We discuss a framework to deal with the dynamics of changing prices. This framework incorporates customer interpretations of price changes, an...

Prior research suggests that brand may influence consumer preference for differentiated products. However, the extant literature does not measure how brand value affects product similarity and consumer choice. This paper examines demand response to the proliferation of personal computers (PCs)....

We report that the price of a 6.5oz Coke was 5¢ from 1886 until 1959. Thus, we are documenting a nominal price rigidity that lasted more than 70 years! The case of Coca-Cola is particularly interesting because during the 70-year period there were substantial changes in the soft drink industry...