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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Companies in the 21st century accept and acknowledge their responsibility in protecting the environment. Unfortunately, the scientific evidence for the unsustainable nature of modern living is overwhelming. Information [...]

Interactive digital media are revolutionizing the marketing landscape. The virtual world is a dominant player in this new panorama, with exchanges in the virtual marketplace approaching $2 billion annually. While virtual, like real world, exchanges require buyers and sellers, there is little or no understanding of this disembodied sales process. The current study seeks to address this gap in knowledge by employing an ethnographic methodology in which researchers incarnate in Second Life to explore the personal selling process. Specifically, the various notions of the 'self' that constitute the avatar salesperson are explored. Findings from this exploratory study suggest a relationship between the nature of the self and the type of exchange. From this, a conceptual model for the study of the virtual selling self is presented, propositions developed, and managerial implications for the virtual sales force suggested. DOI 10.2753/PSS0885-3134300301

Selling to consumers is becoming increasingly complex and difficult due to changes in the channel structure of the marketplace. These changes are being driven in part by a technological revolution incorporating interactive digital media. This introduction to the special issue presents a brief overview of technology-focused research in business-to-consumer selling. The goal of the introduction is to suggest and illustrate a research agenda that depicts the role and implications of technology in business-to-consumer selling. DOI 10.2753/PSS0885-3134300201

It is argued that strategy implementation is an important component and ally in the building of a capable organization and that this helps create the future and not inhibits it. The gap between strategy formulation and performance as well managerial skill levers that make strategy implementation possible are discussed.

Strategic marketing methods, for marketers of automobile companies to maintain customer relations, are examined.

Direct selling executives are influential in the increase of sales and growth of the company. Strategies such as employee recruiting, training, developing appropriate skills and maintaining their motivation for the efficient management of the firm are discussed.

A study was conducted on the capacity allocation conflict between manufacturing and marketing. The effect of 18 priority sequencing rules on the allocation of constrained and excess production capacity was analyzed using the PROD/CUST functionally integrative performance model. Results showed that a total customer orientation may not be productive for some firms. Simulation also showed that manufacturing can no longer act as a reactive component in the marketing process and that appropriate managerial accounting systems are crucial in joint functional analysis using models such as PROD/CUST.

The competitive strategies of an industrial firm may be jeopardized by interfunctional conflict and myopic functional-level decisions. Conflict and misunderstanding can be particularly intense between the marketing and manufacturing functions. This article presents a typology of decisions where strong potential exists for friction between marketing and manufacturing. Company examples are included to provide a degree of face validity for the frequency of such problems. Four major facilitating mechanisms suggested by past research are discussed. Finally, the potential of group decision support systems as a fifth mechanism for facilitating interfunctional cooperation and understanding is examined. Several applications of group decision support systems are presented to illustrate their promise as linking mechanisms. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher. )

In the context of personal selling and sales management research, self-efficacy has typically been studied as positively related, and usually antecedent, to sales performance. Thus, the more efficacious a sales person is, the more effort and persistence he or she is believed to exhibit in prospecting new customers, maintaining relationships with existing customers, and generating sales. The present study differs from prior studies of self-efficacy in that it explores: 1) whether a direct selling experience, in and of itself, can enhance business-related self-efficacy and personal life self-efficacy; 2) whether business-related self-efficacy and personal life self-efficacy in turn relate to self-reported sales performance and non-selling job performance. Data collected from current and former direct sellers indicated that direct selling experience benefitted business-related and personal life skills. Additionally, more current direct sellers than former direct sellers believed that their self-efficacy had been enhanced by their direct selling experience and that they were more successful as direct sellers than others in their company. Self-efficacy was significantly related to self-reported sales performance and performance on a non-direct selling job. The findings possess important practical as well as theoretical implications.

Crossing Functional Lines: Achieving Successful Strategy Implementation Through Effective Internal Partnering Successful strategy implementation requires the input and cooperation of all players in the company. The tendency to 'box' management [...]

The article outlines the responsibility of business schools to prepare their students to become competent business professionals and describes the approaches of the Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts regarding the matter. It discusses Babson's approach of integrating career readiness competencies of the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) in its curriculum, which include oral and written communications, critical thinking and problem solving and leadership skills.

Purpose: The marketplace demands a technological skillset among our college graduates, and scholars acknowledge the educational underpinnings (or lack thereof) regarding technology and its place in marketing education. The current research, therefore, aims to explore how academic institutions and programs have responded to coercive, mimetic and normative isomorphic pressures in reshaping the experiences of current marketing students. Design/methodology/approach: To understand this pressure and its implications with regards to the marketing curriculum, this research explores the integration of technology into the marketing classroom via the three forces of institutional isomorphic change: coercive forces, mimetic processes and normative pressures. The current research uses both primary and secondary data to examine how isomorphism is occurring in digital marketing education. Findings: We find that the integration of technology into the classroom comes from the forces of institutional isomorphic change. Although these forces are pressuring business schools to include technology in their marketing curriculum, a widespread adoption of this necessary media is yet to follow. Research limitations/implications: From a research perspective, this paper portrays the forces that are acting to disrupt teaching and learning in the current global marketplace. Previous research tends to focus on how educators can teach a particular subject area. This paper brings together forces of change as related to educators, students and managers. Practical implications: Educators and their educational institutions have to continue to learn to teach digital marketing. Students have a role to play in that they have to be agents of change for a stronger and newer marketing curriculum. Finally, managers need to partner with educators and students to create a stronger environment for learning practical tools. Originality/value: Weber (2013) utilized this theoretical foundation for understanding how such pressures impacted the coverage and offering of courses addressing ethical, social and sustainability issues in graduate marketing curricula. This research within the digital marketing educational arena is the first to attempt to understand technology integration into marketing education.

The role of social media in the empowerment of women entrepreneurs in emerging economies is a nascent area of research, despite the large numbers of women entrepreneurs around the world. Through semistructured interviews, we explored the role social media plays in the businesses of 30 women entrepreneurs in Egypt. Egypt was an interesting context of study given limited previous research on it and the high adoption rates of social media platforms. Using a grounded theory approach to data analysis, the findings show that social media has an overall positive impact on the lives of women entrepreneurs, both professionally and personally.

The current state of knowledge about ethical marketing decision making is explored from a historical perspective. While much research focuses on ethical issues, our purpose is to provide a holistic perspective of existing theory, skills, and research. We address both normative and descriptive approaches to ethical decision making theory development. Additional dimensions of ethical decision making such as institutional, resource-advantage, and value chain theory are advanced for future research.

Abstract: Every article in the AMS Review should have an impact on marketing thought. The editors of the journal offer several operational guidelines for crafting theoretical/conceptual manuscripts and suggest three characteristics for assessing future impactfulness of a contribution. The marketing professoriate may require a new mindset in order to contribute high quality, impactful theory and review articles that can keep pace with marketplace events and marketing practice.

Cognitive psychology views learning as a problem-solving process, and the case method has evolved as an excellent mechanism for developing the critical thinking skills essential to effective decision making. Focusing upon the student-led approach to case teaching, we present a framework for helping students develop skills for improving the group case process. The intent of the approach is to increase interest in student-led presentations, from the perspectives of the presenting team and the audience. The focus is on providing an educational environment that allows students to develop the interpersonal, analytical, oral communication, and written communication skills demanded by contemporary organizations.

The article focuses on the impact of blogs and social networking sites on Business Schools. It states that though the networking sites have positive impact on the business schools, it can also hamper the reputation of the school. Therefore the school should have orientation sessions with students, develop policies regarding the use of the networks and have definite plans to combat any situation related to the blogs in order to protect the school reputation.

The article offers information on the top excuses for acknowledging the need for cross-functional education but not doing such action. Business schools have failed to organize its interdisciplinary integration and its lack of cross-functional training. Moreover, most business schools curricula have encouraged disciplinary specialization aided with the lack of necessary teaching resources and insufficient cross-functional teaching efforts.