Machiavelli is too often and quite wrongly impugned. Rather than being the master of intrigue, he should be valued as the first political scientist. He deduced what brought political success. The gist of his advice to the Prince is that loyalty, winning it, inculcating it, is the key to success....

Purpose – To draw lessons from Peter Ducker's change of heart during the half‐century between The Practice of Management in 1954 and his death in 2005. Design/methodology/approach – Commissioned for the viewpoint series, with permission to think aloud. Findings – Concludes that marketing...

Purpose – To reflect on the stewardship of Marketing Intelligence & Planning ( MIP ) over the past 25 years with special attention to the purpose and mission of the journal. Design/methodology/approach – A viewpoint contribution from the past, present and future editors of MIP , with...

Based on an address to the Swedish Marketing Federation, considers how much longer conventional methods of consumer market research can be considered state of the art when academic study has moved into its postmodern phase.

The use of productivity measurement in relation to the marketing function is relatively new. The central role of marketing can be expressed as the management of consumer demand and the translation of this demand into sales and profits. Marketing productivity analysis is an important tool in...

The conceptual problem associated with marketing productivity analysis is examined followed by an examination of currrent practice in marketing productivity in the following areas — on the product line, in advertising and promotional mix, in the salesforce, in distribution and in customer...

Customer satisfaction is the key to repeat business. Dissatisfied customers not only switch brands but spread their dissatisfaction. Managing the customer requires a strategy for customer care that involves a number of interfaces: management‐customer, staff‐customer, management‐staff,...

Are nations successful because of their national characteristics or because of the characteristics of the companies located there? The subject is discussed in a new book review. Secondly, an article is reviewed, offering a number of research propositions, which ideally should be observed if an...

Three approaches to marketing are reviewed: new tools for evaluating marketing performance in an organisation offer a practical guide; applying the principles of niche marketing to larger companies can be successful and profitable; today′s technology has transformed customer choice and marketing...