This paper argues for the consideration by managers of postmodern phenomena and how they might impact on the field of direct marketing communications. It begins by outlining the conditions of postmodernism and then discusses the decline of individualism and the emergence of neo‐tribes (Cova,...

The Thirty‐six Chinese Classical Strategies of War is a renowned ancient book of warfare circulated among Chinese army commanders for a long period of time. Apart from its focus on warfare, this ancient treatise also holds valuable lessons for the world of competitive business. This paper...

Recent decades have witnessed an explosion in the quantity of information being produced, which in turn has created vast opportunities for information‐based businesses. The time has come for information to be treated as a unique product along ‐ side goods and services. But is information an...

The concept of Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) is receiving increasing attention in many academic and practioner media, primarily from an organisational perspective. Yet, influence of integrated communications programmes on consumers is difficult to establish in the literature....

Using the work of earlier human needs researchers as a theoretical base, the Consumer Resource Exchange Model (CREM) has been developed. The model is based upon the concept that consumers seek to manage four fundamental resources in order to satisfy their needs. This paper is a partial...

Attempts to define “relationship marketing” have been varied and many, neatly reflecting the diverse academic and socio‐political backgrounds of RM scholars. This paper lists 26 such definitions, collected as a by‐product of a literature review. Presented alongside this resource are the...

Amid an increasingly turbulent and competitive business environment, strategic marketing plann‐ing is typically referred to as the management discipline which enables the firm to improve its competitiveness by becoming more responsive and adaptable to changing market conditions. Most of the...

While the idea of post‐materialism is more than 20 years old, consumer researchers have given it little attention. This paper engages in an interdisciplinary exploration of this important cultural phenomenon. The Protestant work ethic, with its emphasis on ever‐increasing levels of...

The past may be a foreign country, according to L.P. Hartley, but marketers seem to have secured resident alien status. Retro products, services, advertisements and pricing policies are everywhere apparent, as are heritage centres, mega‐brand museums, festival shopping malls and...

A postmodernist look at the position of marketing at the turn of the millennium. Devises a dream‐like conversation between four professionals (a doctor, a lawyer, an accountant and a marketer). Each representative defends the status of the profession, with the focus on the marketer. Considers...