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The main purpose of this study is to examine the effect of promotional activities applied in e-commerce on the consumer behavior of individuals living and shopping in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. The study was conducted using quantitative research method based on Söker's (2022) scale form. The population of the study consists of all individuals residing and shopping in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, while the sample consists of 336 consumers. The reliability of the collected data was evaluated in the analyzes carried out using SPSS 28.00 program. According to the results of the research, there is a general perception among the respondents that promotional sales strategies are effective on consumers. In particular, promotions such as second item free have the potential to influence respondents' purchasing decisions. The distribution of discount coupons and the use of fair/exhibition booths on digital platforms are other types of promotions that are viewed positively. However, some respondents expressed reservations towards certain promotional strategies. For example, 15.2% had a negative attitude towards discount coupons, while 33.3% believed that promotional products are generally not preferred. These results suggest that the impact of promotional strategies is not the same for everyone and that businesses need to understand their target audience well. In conclusion, promotional selling strategies are generally perceived positively, but some consumers have reservations about such strategies. These findings emphasize the need for businesses to carefully plan their promotional strategies and understand their target audiences.

Objective: To assess whether and how beverage companies incentivize universities to maximize sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) sales through pouring rights contracts. Methods: Cross-sectional study of contracts between beverage companies and public U.S. universities with 20,000 or more students active in 2018 or 2019. We requested contracts from 143 universities. The primary measures were presence of financial incentives and penalties tied to sales volume. Results: 124 universities (87%) provided 131 unique contracts (64 Coca-Cola, 67 Pepsi). 125 contracts (95%) included at least one provision tying payments to sales volume. The most common incentive type was commissions, found in 104 contracts (79%). Nineteen contracts (15%) provided higher commissions or rebates for carbonated soft drinks compared to bottled water. Conclusions: Most contracts between universities and beverage companies incentivized universities to market and sell bottled beverages, particularly SSBs. Given the health risks associated with consumption of SSBs, universities should consider their role in promoting them.

Objective: Electronic Nicotine Delivery System (ENDS) proprietors strategically placed near college campuses and pervasive marketing on social media platforms, such as Facebook, are critical to the tobacco industry's effort to acquire new young adult users. Understanding the themes used on Facebook to promote ENDS products to college students is necessary to develop public health messaging to combat the vaping epidemic. Methods: We identified 15 ENDS proprietors located near four Big 10 universities and qualitatively analyzed a random sample of their Facebook posts (n = 405) to identify emerging themes using a grounded theory approach. Results: ENDS proprietors in college towns use Facebook to deploy "promotional" messaging (n = 319), to market ENDS products as a means of celebration (n = 40), to establish a sense of "community" (n = 155) among ENDS users, to make "marijuana references" (n = 36), and to "advocate" (n = 27) for ENDS products. Conclusions: These themes may increase social acceptability and use of ENDS products among college students.

Background: In April 2016, the City of Chicago implemented an ordinance restricting the sale of all flavored (including menthol) tobacco products (FTPs), including electronic cigarettes, at retailers located within 500 feet of any public, private, or alternative elementary, middle ("primary"), or high ("secondary") school. We examined changes in retail availability of FTPs from before to after policy implementation among policy-affected retailers compared with retailers not subject to the policy. Method: Observational data were collected in June to September 2015 (Wave 1; pre-policy) and November to December 2016 (Wave 2; post-policy) from a panel of 194 randomly selected policy-area stores (located within 500 feet of a school), and a panel of 199 randomly selected comparison-area stores (located more than 500 feet from a school). Using generalized estimation equation regression, we assessed differences in FTP availability changes across study areas. Results: We observed a statistically significant policy effect on FTP availability (Area × Wave interaction, p<0.05); however, more than half of policy-area retailers continued to display at least one FTP after policy implementation (87.11% at Wave 1, 57.73% at Wave 2, p<0.05). Similar reductions were seen for the availability of flavored cigarillos/little cigars and menthol cigarettes, while policy effects varied across store types. Discussion: FTP availability reductions appear to be associated with policy implementation, but FTPs remained readily available at retailers subject to the policy. This study contributes to the evidence base indicating that policies with exclusions or exemptions for certain flavors, products, store types, or retailer locations have a limited effect on retail availability of FTPs.

Corporate America has contributed to the commercialization of higher education through the privatization of college bookstores by athletic apparel companies and private businesses. The decreasing number of independent college bookstores is a direct result of it, and it puts their educational mission and student-first approach in jeopardy. But independent college bookstores should not have to be outsourced and prioritize profit in order to succeed. Branded merchandise and marketplace competition have their place in the college bookstore--they financially benefit institutions and help prevent a bookstore monopolization. David Paul Morales Carrera examines why American higher education institutions must pay special attention to the importance of a quality, mission-driven college bookstore that prioritizes student success over profit.

According to the authors, the apparel and retail industries are integral to our lives, yet they contribute to environmental issues from discarded clothing items that still have life within them. Gen Z and Millennials today are at the forefront of the pre-worn apparel movement, often documented as thrift shopping. This shift from new to pre-worn may be attributed to a large number who note that sustainability is important to them when making buying decisions. The authors maintain that apparel design curricula that address student understanding of the value of apparel, and their ability to redesign and repair garments, is necessary to transform today's apparel design programs from a 'waste' standpoint. To support the need for apparel redesign and repair skills of students, apparel design curricula should be carefully considered. At the authors' university, to support the need for developing these skill sets, they created two opportunities for students to recognize the value that a garment inherently has as well as its significance to the end user and the relevance of keeping it within a community. Creating a garment with flat pattern pieces or the draping of flat fabric is a very different learning experience from working with a 3-dimensional sewn garment. As such, apparel programs that offer different capacity building experiences can help students develop necessary and practical skill sets.

This case study assesses a course re-designed to scaffold a semester-long networking opportunity and experiential learning project. The course occurred online twice using Microsoft Teams in the spring and fall of 2021 and later in person once in the spring of 2023. I present quantitative student course evaluation data from all three semesters and compare them to the department, school, and university. I also address open comments from students, pedagogy, media coverage, and our fashion industry partner's perspective. Findings suggest that the course design was successful across modalities. Students rated the course highly compared to others on campus, even while online, and ratings improved over time. Student comments praised the course for offering valuable career preparation. Our industry partner also derived professional and personal value by interacting with and mentoring students. The case study concludes by encouraging educators to implement experiential learning in any modality, offering guidance, and addressing obstacles.

This paper focuses on a deductive, participative, and iterative process for curricular revision at a public Midwestern university in the Merchandising and Fashion Design program. A systematic, nonlinear, organized process is presented and details specific components used in curricular review. The guiding framework for the redesign was that of Garner and Buckley (1988). That is, feedback was solicited and incorporated from educators, students, and employers. In each of the two-year process, the program was viewed as a whole, with input from faculty at every step, and also viewed from a micro-perspective by examining each course individually. The process included peer review, with each faculty member encouraged to review not only their own courses, but those of their colleagues as well. At times, the curricular review process seemed overwhelming with the significant amount of data and resource constraints to consider. The systematic process presented assisted in managing multiple considerations and constituents involved in the curriculum review. Besides maintaining a relevant and current curriculum, the process provided a multitude of benefits for the department. Significant changes were made to the curriculum, but more honest relationships were reestablished and an increased understanding among colleagues was an unexpected benefit of the lengthy, but necessary, examination of the program and resulting curricular changes in the department.

This research was aimed to explore the demands of the people in the communities in order to develop multimedia and activities to promote products made by state enterprise communities in the Bangmod Project 4.0 through Community-Based Learning among undergraduate students of King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi, to examine the perception and the satisfaction of the local people regarding the multimedia and activities, to evaluate the work and to determine the satisfaction of the students towards Community-Based Learning. The tools in this study consisted of 1) the questionnaire on the demands of the local people regarding the multimedia and activities, 2) the multimedia and activities to promote products made by the state enterprise communities in Bangmod Project 4.0 which included offline and online contents as well as special activities, 3) the quality evaluation forms in terms of contents and media presentation, 4) the perception survey form, 5) the satisfaction questionnaire for the local people, 6) the self-evaluation form for students, and 7) the satisfaction questionnaire for students towards the community-based learning. There were two sampling groups as in 1) 22 local people out of 4 state enterprise communities which participated in Bangmod Project 4.0 and they were purposively chosen for this research, 2) 30 undergraduate students who enrolled in the ETM 358 Marketing Communications course which followed the community-based learning approach and these students were purposively chosen out of those who went to the field at least 4 times. The research results showed that the local people in the state enterprise communities expressed a level of demands on the multimedia and activities to promote their products for online and offline media as well as special activities. They wanted to promote 12 products. The quality of the multimedia and activities as evaluated by the experts in contents showed that the quality was at a very good level ([x-bar] = 4.67, S.D. = 0.20). The quality of the media presentation was at a very good level ([x-bar] = 4.87, S.D. = 0.24). The perception level of the local people about the multimedia and activities was at a high level ([x-bar] = 4.41, S.D. = 0.18) and the local people expressed the highest level of satisfaction towards the multimedia and activities ([x-bar] = 4.80, S.D. = 0.79). The students rated themselves at a very good level (83.72%) and their satisfaction towards the community-based learning was at the highest level ([x-bar] = 4.77, S.D. = 0.24). It can be concluded that the multimedia and activities to promote products made by state enterprise communities in Bangmod Project 4.0 through Community-Based Learning were of good quality and they could be used to promote the products of the local communities.

Drawing on a specific case of the El-Hawwar Sporting Club, located in El-Mansoura, Egypt, the primary intent of this study was to identify variables and key factors that contribute to an effective sport marketing promotional mix, used to enhance visibility and consumption of products and services of the sport organization. A total of 100 participants completed a questionnaire with questions using a 3-point Likert scale including demographic information to determine the effectiveness of a promotional mix to increase the service consumption of the HSC Sporting Club. The findings confirm the extraordinary value of a well-chosen promotional mix to increase the visibility and profitability of the touted goods and services. Participants provided several practical recommendations that include a call on today's sport marketers to invest sufficient time and resources in conducting a thorough market and consumer behavior analysis as a foundation for an effective promotional mix. This study found the use of promotion mixes in Egyptian clubs is still at its infancy and there is a dire need for more research on the topic in the future.

The growing number of online and hybrid graduate programs and their particular relevance to older female students suggests the salience of hybrid education for female-dominated degrees such as apparel merchandising and design (AMD). The current study reports on the initial iteration of an action research assessment of the hybrid option of an AMD doctoral program, which investigated the strengths and weaknesses of the program options, student satisfaction, and the preparedness of hybrid doctoral graduates for careers in academia. Qualitative data was collected from ten students and four faculty of the program. Findings indicated faculty expertise, peer/faculty/staff interactions, and opportunities for research as strengths of the hybrid option. Weaknesses included lack of course offerings in hybrid formats and inadequate guidance for completing degree processes. Hybrid students were satisfied with the program option and felt similar levels of preparedness for careers in academia as students in the on-campus option. Recommendations are being implemented by the program under study and are provided here for other administrators and faculty of AMD-related hybrid doctoral programs.

The following are journal reflections written by Morgan State University Family and Consumer Sciences-Fashion Merchandising students in 2020, during the early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic. As we navigated through a semester that should have had students completing practicum credits, they instead wrote about recouping the time and identifying alternative endeavors that would still meet course objectives. Many emotions were shared through these journal entries--fear, discouragement, disappointment--but they weren't all negative emotions. Some included hope and perseverance. There was even a journal entry written on a successful costume designer (guest speaker) who challenged them to think of innovative ways to design for a post-COVID-19 apparel industry. The entries below, written during the spring semester--January 2020 thru May 2020--are in chronological order, listed by date. They were written by 13 different students. It is my hope that readers experience a level of empathy and acceptance for themselves after going through this pandemic. It has been an unprecedented year. Hopefully, you will be encouraged by the freedom of expression that is evident in the entries below.

Active learning engages students where they enjoy the learning process and gain a better understanding of course content. Active learning, such as an in-class game, can mitigate inattentive listening to material presented in a traditional lecture format. The Merch Game is an innovative, in-class retail simulation game that uses student collaboration and competition with a focus on merchandising concepts. The goal of the innovation is to raise awareness regarding concepts related to merchandising in the game. The innovation is outlined, and student written reflections provide the data to employ quantitative content analysis. Results demonstrate the in-class game met its learning objectives, namely, recognition, comprehension, and application of merchandising concepts. Application to other settings and future research opportunities are also discussed.

Technology usage is widespread across most fields of business. In sales, "back-end" technologies, such as customer relationship management or salesforce automation, offer a foundation for effective and efficient "front-line" interactions in the personal selling process (PSP). In many instances, "front-line" technology applications have replaced traditional, hard-copy sales support materials. However, do these technology-based sales support materials (TSSM) offer meaningful utility in the PSP? Using a randomized field experiment, the current study answers the question through examining the use of TSSM within the PSP and across genders. Results indicate that the use of TSSM offers utility during the presentation and objection-handling stages of the PSP. There are no gender effects associated with technology use. The study offers educators pedagogical recommendations regarding the use of TSSM within the PSP. The study also validates the PSP scale.

This paper describes the results of studies on the peculiarities of distributed information systems, and the research of distributed systems technology development. The paper also provides the results of the analysis of E-business market research in the Republic of Kazakhstan. The article briefly describes the implementation of a possible solution to a distributed system based on Java-technologies. The topicality of the work is determined by the need of E-business development to increase economic investments, as well as improving the competitiveness of Kazakhstan in the world trade. The paper gives a brief description of the types of E-business, the concept of a distributed system, types of distributed software systems, distributed systems architecture analysis, logical software layers of distributed systems, as well as the analysis of distributed systems technology development and Java-technologies for the development of distributed systems. In addition, an example of a distributed system development in E-business is provided--a Java-based online store, as well as the description of the implementation of a distributed system, the software part and a hardware part of a distributed system, the description of the logical architecture for the online store, the structure and the operation of the system. Also, the name and address of the implemented distributed system are given, which is the result of a study of distributed systems and the implementation of Java-based distributed systems. The development of E-business requires the implementation of an information system for the promotion of goods and services. Today, E-businesses mostly use information systems with distributed structure. The implementation of Java-based distributed systems in E-business is one way of the E-business development in Kazakhstan. The results are applicable to the post-Soviet and developing countries, which include Kazakhstan, as the theoretical basis for the development of E-business.

At the start of the 2nd ML AD a number of trading posts, or factories, emerged in the Cis-Ural region with participation of Bulgar handicraftsmen and merchants. They were townships populated by various ethnic groups. Several centuries later similar factories were set up by natives of the Cis-Ural region in Western Siberia. These factories have become major industrial and economic centers, where the multinational population was dominating. These factories increased the exchange of cultures among different nations. The article discusses the influence of the Bulgar merchants on trade, culture and town planning. In order to achieve this goal, the principle of historicism was used and experience of domestic and foreign scientists was generalized, allowing objectively consider the role of the Bulgar trade and craft factories and their influence on the feudal system. The results of the study consider the reasons for trading posts foundation; also analyze how the geographical area affected on the appearance of factories. Trade and craft factories were large commercial and educational centers at their height. Their decline was influenced by medieval diseases and conquest of Turkic tribes. This work may be a theoretical source for social researches in the era of feudalism.

An auction is a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bid, taking bids, and then selling each good or service to the highest bidder. Participants bid openly against one another; each bid must be higher than the previous bid. In the activity described rather than goods or services, English teachers sell sentences! The activity can be an effective and enjoyable way to finish a lesson, to check students' understanding, and provide a review at the beginning of the next class. The main goals are to review a targeted grammar structure (or vocabulary or, at lower levels, numbers) and to give students a chance to work together and have fun.

For decades, (going back to the 1950s) the negative attitudes students hold towards salespeople and sales careers have been of concern to university educators and to employers seeking to recruit well-trained sales people. While the increasing demand for university educated salespeople continues to grow, employers are struggling to meet that demand. This study reports the impact of a professional selling course on changes in student perceptions regarding (a) the desirability of a professional selling career, (b) the usefulness of a professional selling course for developing selling skill sets in entry-level salespeople, (c) the customer orientation of salespeople, and (d) societal perceptions of salespeople. Results show that both male and female college students perceived the selling profession and salespeople more positively after taking the sales course, and that these students had positive perceptions regarding the skill set gained through such courses.

More than any other area of business, expertise in personal selling and sales management can best be seen through applied learning styles. Many universities are now offering sale concentration in marketing or even MBA degrees. However, many students still feel instructors' teaching methods are outdated. Instructors use many different techniques such as role-playing, dialogues, and case studies to teach personal selling. Students may be able to demonstrate excellence in selling using a non-profit organization. Giving your students the task to obtain commitment in the form of donations gives them real-world experience in selling. This project gives back to the local community while using experiential learning techniques to teach sales.

The purpose of this study was to test a structural model to determine which psychosocial constructs affected the purchase intention of athletic team merchandise (ATM). Results from the analyses indicated that the twelve-factor ATM model fit the data from collegiate athletic events well, explaining the various impact factors that lead to purchase intention of athletic team merchandise among sports consumers. Based on values theory, identity theory, attitude theory, and satisfaction theory that influence product consumption, this study suggests that consumer intentions to purchase athletic team merchandise are significantly associated with personal values, team identification, brand/product attitude, product attributes, expectancy, previous purchase, and satisfaction. Given the finding that team identification had marginal impact on attitude toward brand and/or product in general, it is suggested that sport marketers should select appropriate brands for the products that represent their team or athletic department. Fitness of brand image may suggest an alternative explanation for future studies. (Contains 3 tables.)

Many educators believe that student learning is enhanced when they are actively involved in classroom activities that require student inquiry. The purpose of this paper is to report on three student inquiry projects that were incorporated into a merchandising class with the focus on making students responsible for their learning, rather than the teacher. The students' evaluations of the projects were very positive. In written evaluations of the class, many expressed liking the projects and described them as a very useful way to learn and understand the class topics and contents. These responses suggest that the active learning and student inquiry strategy was helpful to the students in understanding the content of the course. It is recommended that educators actively involve students in the learning process by developing projects that require student inquiry. Additional research to analyze the benefits and limitations of active learning and inquiry and to examine how institutions can support faculty to implement active learning should be conducted.

The learning needs for adults that result from the constant increase in technology are rooted in the adult learning concepts of (a) andragogy, (b) self-directed learning, (c) learning-how-to-learn, (d) real-life learning, and (e) learning strategies. This study described the learning strategies that adults use in learning to engage in an online auction process. The findings indicated that (a) the learning process of the participants supported adult learning principles, (b) there are additional descriptors for the learning strategy preference groups, (c) learners can achieve similar learning tasks by using different learning strategies, and (d) traditional literacy and computer literacy skills are enhanced by Internet use.

Although it is evident that sales of team licensed merchandise (TLM) contribute to the overall consumption of sport, research efforts that comprehensively describe what triggers the consumption of TLM is lacking (Lee, Trail, Kwon, & Anderson, 2011). Therefore, based on multiple theories (i.e., values theory, identity theory, attitude theory, and satisfaction theory) and other concepts that influence product consumption, this study proposed a theoretical model that explains purchase intention of TLM. The proposed model consists of various factors including personal values, team identification, attitude (toward brand and product), past experience, perceived product attributes, expectancy disconfirmation, satisfaction, and intention to purchase (brand and product). The comprehensiveness of the model would allow scholars and researchers to test and explain various commonly occurring consumption activities at a domain level. (Contains 1 figure.)

Improper sales revenue recognition is the single largest issue contributing to financial restatements. Understanding and applying the rules of sales revenue recognition is not just an accounting problem; it is a marketing problem, too. Thus, it is important that the sales force has a basic understanding of the rules of sales recognition and be aware of when they should seek advice from accounting on the details of sales agreements. Unfortunately, most marketing and sales curricula neither expose nor alert students to sales revenue recognition issues and the resulting ethical, financial, legal and marketing consequences of improper revenue recognition. Such students, after joining the workforce, may pursue certain marketing goals, strategies and tactics which may lead them unknowingly to engage in unethical and/or illegal practices. Our findings based on a survey of 300 undergraduate students highlight the deficiencies in their understanding of what counts as sales. The survey used real cases where SIC found that misreporting of sales has occurred.

Digital technology is an expanding area of education policy. There is growing interest, therefore, in how networks of corporate and state policy actors implicit in the formation of (inter)national education technology agendas intersect with local school systems and teachers. In particular, this paper explores the significant policy work that takes place outside schools and classrooms through education trade shows. Based on an in-depth 'event ethnography' of one large Scandinavian educational technology show, the paper details how these events function as sites of policy interpretation--'sharing' (or more accurately 'selling') global ideas and imperatives to local schools and teachers. These findings highlight the role of trade shows in consolidating policy networks, subsuming public education interests into corporate concerns, and differentiating teacher subjectivities and encouraging teacher entrepreneurship. The paper problematizes the ways in which teacher agency is shaped and controlled by the discursive, material and affective dimensions of such events.

Any professional act will lead to a significant change. How can one make students understand "managing change" as a consequence or as an intended objective? "DECISION IN CASCADE" -- is a Management Computational Game for the Education of University Master Students and Junior Executive -- simulates five economic functions: research and development, production, purchases and sales, personnel, finance and accounting of five to nine companies operating on a free market. The program package handles a data base of the modelled companies and provides reports on sales by types of markets, on the output of the company, personnel, raw materials in stock, production costs, innovation and research.

Experiential projects bring students closer to real-world situations. This is valuable in sales education because the complexities of the sales process are difficult to learn from a textbook. A student project was developed that involved the selling of advertising space in a one-time newspaper insert. The project included a substantial minimum sales figure and a firm GO/NO-GO date. It resulted in the successful production and distribution of the publication through $10,800 in sales. It also demonstrated that students learned the complexity of the sales process--even individuals who were unsuccessful in selling ads.

In a sea of applicant uniformity, how can an undergraduate student develop a means of personal differentiation while attempting to land an internship or job? That is the dilemma of the roughly 1.9 million Millennials graduating with bachelor's degrees within the United States in 2015 (Hussar & Bailey, 2015). Although the national unemployment rate is approximately 5%, Millennials are struggling with numbers upward of 14%. This situation analysis is not meant to further distress those seeking employment, but is intended to help them by posing the question, "How can you develop your personal brand and create a distinct or differentiated offering for potential employers?" Our answer: the online portfolio, or e-portfolio.

This paper proposes a new computer-aided educational system for clothing visual merchandising and display. It aims to provide an operating environment that supports the various stages of display design in a user-friendly and intuitive manner. First, this paper provides a brief introduction to current software applications in the field of computer-aided clothing display design. Second, it describes the structure of the process-based clothing display design system (PCDDS) as well as the function and workflow of display design. Finally, a user evaluation was conducted using quantitative and qualitative evaluation methods. The quantitative evaluation was conducted using the responses to a questionnaire on system usability from six instructors and application tests on PCDDS. The qualitative evaluation was conducted by interviewing six instructors and through the students' experience reports. Evaluation results showed that most of the instructors agreed that the five modules (i.e., storyboard module, model database module, display design module, scene screenshot and animation module, and evaluation module) could help students and instructors to complete the entire display design process from the conceptualization to the evaluation of specific design solutions and to improve teaching quality. Results from the students' report indicated that the employment of PCDDS in training could give them a better understanding of clothing visual merchandising and display.

Fifteen years ago Loynes expressed concern that market-place values were detrimentally impacting on the provision of outdoor education experiences. As tertiary educators with an interest in the impact of globalization on outdoor education, we have sought to extend Loynes' use of McDonaldization by drawing on Bryman's conceptual framework of Disneyization in order to more deeply understand patterns of contemporary consumption. We draw on field visits to investigate the degree to which these two concepts have permeated the provision of recreational providers that serve schools. We contend that there is evidence that Loynes' concerns remain valid, but we suggest that more recent discourses around "place" may offer viable and supportable alternatives to "consumption-oriented" outdoor education practice.

This paper uses the Economic Market mechanisms and the 4P Marketing Mix as lenses to review the context of UK higher education (HE) and to explore the relationship between the market and marketing disciplines and practice. Four Economic Market mechanisms--autonomy, competition, price and information--are contrasted with the four Ps of marketing: product, price, place and promotion. This paper demonstrates how market forces influence HE institutions and, in contrast, how HE institutions shape the environment via marketing practice. Knowing how one discipline relates to another is crucial for those who strive to understand the context of HE.

In October 2010, Phil Wein, president of Emporium Luggage, was looking for ways to expand his retail luggage operation. Like many firms in the luggage industry, his leisure travel segment had been hurt by the 9/11 terrorist attacks, which forced several luggage retailers to retrench. More recently, the U.S. recession that started in 2008, and the resulting higher unemployment rate, had cut down on business travel. Hence, his core business customers had reduced their spending on travel. Furthermore, the neighborhoods that Emporium Luggage had successfully serviced in the past were changing. Reduced housing prices meant that older workers were "retiring in place," that is, staying in their homes after their working days were over, and younger, working families were not moving in to replace the retirees. Accordingly, Emporium had reduced its retail presence to its three most profitable locations. However, there were still opportunities to investigate. The greater metropolitan area continued to expand away from the city as businesses sought lower land prices and access to employees living in the bedroom communities surrounding the city. As a result, Mr. Wein thought he might have an opportunity to better serve those customers with a new retail location. Like all physical retailers, Emporium Luggage had lost customers to Internet-based retailers, including Amazon. Wein had countered by adding two Internet stores, which were not branded as Emporium. These stores offered similar luggage items but not the same merchandise mix as Emporium. Wein considered opening a fourth physical, or "bricks-and-mortar," store to be located closer to potential customers. This case study opens up discussion on the following topics: (1) What forces in the marketing environment are at play in Mr. Wein's decision making?; (2) What is the unique selling proposition of a "bricks-and-mortar" location when compared to a virtual store?; (3) What factors go into the decision on where to locate a new store?; and (4) How should Mr. Wein promote the new store opening, and continue to promote Emporium Luggage to new and current customers?

Schools in the UK teach pupils about Fairtrade as part of Religious Education, Personal and Social Education, Citizenship, Geography and so on. There are also Fairtrade Schools, where the whole school, including staff and parents, is committed to promoting the brand. It is argued here that promoting this commercial brand to schoolchildren and using the schoolchildren to press adults to buy a product amounts to indoctrination using criteria of intent, methods of teaching and the subject matter. This conflicts with educational goals. It is also shown to be akin to the criminal offence of Unfair Trading: the methods used in teaching used would be unacceptable in normal commercial marketing. A completely separate criticism, based on a wide range of research evidence, is that the schools mislead by giving false information and by suppression of relevant information, again akin to the criminal offence of Unfair Trading. The question of who has the responsibility for preventing such actions is considered.

Substantial theoretical and empirical literature indicates inconsistent performance implications of intrinsic motivation, suggesting the possibility of some explanatory mechanisms. However, little is known about the factors that might explain intrinsic motivation and sales force performance relation, particularly in highly competitive and demanding fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) marketplace requiring new and useful solutions. Creativity, being a critical yet underutilized weapon in sales force arsenal, has the potential to assume the role. Therefore, this study aims at developing and testing a theory-driven framework in linking intrinsic motivation to sales performance while using sales force creative performance as partial mediator. By employing structural equation modeling, the empirical validity of the proposed mediating model is evaluated against plausible moderating model in a sample of 688 frontline field salespersons of FMCG companies in Lahore (Pakistan). Findings indicated that sales force creative performance is nurtured by intrinsic motivation that, in turn, promotes sales performance. Practical implications of findings for sales force management and suggestions for future research are presented, too.

Drawing on the marketing literature, as well as the views of both marketing educators and current marketers in Canada, a survey was conducted of marketing practitioners to determine their top priorities for improvement in marketing education, as well as the key challenges in need of attention. An importance-performance analysis was carried out on these data. Findings indicate that the top current priority for practitioners is knowledge related to areas associated with measuring return-on-investment and strategic marketing. Results also support that meta-skills are perceived as high priorities for improvement, including the ability to creatively identify, formulate, and solve problems; the ability to write in a business environment; and the ability to set priorities. Some of the areas identified as lower priority in this study included design-related skills, production, and merchandising. Suggestions for changes to marketing education, future research, and considerations for practitioners are provided. (Contains 11 tables, 1 figure and 1 note.)

Purpose: This paper seeks to add to the research on the role of cognitive and affective trust in promoting knowledge sharing between executives and consequently establishing an organizational learning environment. Design/methodology/approach: This paper examines the influence of one conceptualization of trust, one that has two sub-constructs--affective (emotional) trust and cognitive (rational) trust--on knowledge sharing among 157 marketing and sales executives. Findings: The results indicate that affective trust is more important than cognitive trust in sharing interpersonal knowledge, but cognitive trust is more important in creating an organizational learning environment. Research limitations/implications: The scope of this study was limited to the marketing and sales functions in business to consumer companies. Knowledge sharing is an acute issue in this industry and the results may not be completely applicable to less competitive industries or business functions. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to test the proposed propositions further in other industries and business functions. Practical implications: The results indicate that organizations should focus on organizational processes which promote both affective and cognitive trust. Such processes include job rotation to improve cognitive understanding and employee screening for affective trust traits. Originality/value: To date, much of the planned organizational learning efforts have been focused on outside interventions (i.e. training seminars, meetings, etc.) that have value but are limited in their ability to generate sustained levels of trust. To increase knowledge sharing and consequent organizational learning benefits, results of this study indicate that organizations should encourage cognitive and affective trust building endeavours. (Contains 2 tables and 2 figures.)

The purpose of this paper is to describe an educational partnership experience between rural retailers and graduate students in a Merchandising, Apparel and Textiles program. Students were afforded an opportunity to work with small business owners in rural communities, giving them real world exposure to the actual challenges being faced by today's rural retailers. This collaborative effort provided the rural retailers with ideas to improve their businesses, while giving the students interactive experiences in the workplace.The usefulness of this type of partnership is described.

This paper reports on an ethnographically based study of entry level supermarket work. The study, carried out in a large suburban supermarket in Auckland, New Zealand, focused on the literacy and numeracy practices of supermarket assistants, all who had English as an additional language. It found that skills such as oral communication, personal presentation, reliability and motivation were considered vital by management for good "customer service", a fundamental tenet of the supermarket and essential for its successful operation. However, for some assistants, the mastery of highly context-specific literacy texts and potentially complex "embedded" numeracy was also necessary in order for them to carry out their work. This requirement was often poorly understood by management. The paper describes some of the literacy and numeracy challenges faced by assistants and their different personalised strategies for establishing meaning. It also discusses the significance of the findings for the teaching of literacy and numeracy in vocational training programmes. Findings indicate that off-site programmes have an important role in providing a learning foundation but also point to the importance of, and need for, workplace-specific, needs-based on-the-job literacy and numeracy training. (Contains 2 tables and 2 figures.)

The "Journal of Marketing Education" ("JME") was launched almost 35 years ago. In this invited article, we review "JME"'s long and distinguished history. For historical perspective, we will lean heavily on the words of "JME" editors (including special issue editors); this focus adds context for the past and helps project the future. As a descriptive tool, we highlight key trends as they emerged over the years, and we offer a categorization rubric for simplifying cross-era comparisons. We also spotlight the most active authors over the years, note "JME" outstanding articles of the year, and highlight the most frequently cited articles. In presenting this historical review, we first discuss the methodology used for creating categorical areas and then present the findings for each of the four eras. We then provide an overview of each area and cross-era trend assessment. And finally, we conclude with future research directions. (Contains 8 tables, 1 figure and 1 note.)

In June and July 2006 a team of outside experts arrived in Yei, Southern Sudan through an AID project to provide support to a local agricultural development project. The team brought evaluation, agricultural marketing and financial management expertise to the in-country partners looking at steps to rebuild the economy of the war ravaged region. A partnership of local officials, agricultural development staff, and students worked with the outside team to craft a survey of agricultural traders working between northern Uganda and Southern Sudan the steps approach of a collaborative model. The goal was to create a market directory of use to producers, government officials and others interested in stimulating agricultural trade. The directory of agricultural producers and distributors served as an agricultural development and promotion tool as did the collaborative process itself. (Contains 1 figure.)

This article analyzes the theoretical and empirical parameters of social regulation in contemporary global food markets, focusing on the rapidly expanding Fair Trade initiative. Fair Trade seeks to transform North/South relations by fostering ethical consumption, producer empowerment, and certified commodity sales. This initiative joins an array of labor and environmental standard and certification systems which are often conceptualized as "private regulations" since they depend on the voluntary participation of firms. I argue that these new institutional arrangements are better understood as "social regulations" since they operate beyond the traditional bounds of private and public (corporate and state) domains and are animated by individual and collective actors. In the case of Fair Trade, I illuminate how relational and civic values are embedded in economic practices and institutions and how new quality assessments are promoted as much by social movement groups and loosely aligned consumers and producers as they are by market forces. This initiative's recent commercial success has deepened price competition and buyer control and eroded its traditional peasant base, yet it has simultaneously created new openings for progressive politics. The study reveals the complex and contested nature of social regulation in the global food market as movement efforts move beyond critique to institution building. (Contains 5 tables.)

Estimates are that 32 million people currently play fantasy football every year. Project Based Learning (PBL) is one method of engaging students in the educational process. This paper outlines a semester long project undertaken by undergraduate sport management students that uses fantasy football as a vehicle to enhance student knowledge of basic sport marketing concepts. The five major components of sport marketing (Product, Price, Place, Promotion, and Public Relations) are addressed through the project. At the end of the project, the students have a portfolio of material that was developed to illustrate their understanding of these components. While the evidence is anecdotal, there are indications that this project does engage students and does enhance their knowledge of key sport marketing components.

We employ a behavioral-economic equation put forward by Hursh and Silberberg (2008) to explain human consumption behavior among substitutable food brands, applying a consumer-choice model--the behavioral perspective model (BPM; Foxall, 1990/2004, 2005). In this study, we apply the behavioral-economic equation to human economic consumption data. We attempt to find the variation pattern of essential value across brand groups differing in utilitarian reinforcement and informational reinforcement. The BPM denotes that consumers show less price responsiveness in closed settings and more price responsiveness in open settings. We also examine whether consumers are more sensitive to price changes in an open setting, where many alternatives are available, and vice versa. We find that (a) essential value varies across different brand groups within the same products; (b) brands with higher levels of utilitarian reinforcement showed larger essential value; (c) brands with higher levels of informational reinforcement showed larger essential value; and (d) the essential value of brands varies inversely with the degree of openness of consumer settings. (Contains 3 tables and 4 figures.)

A self-study tutorial designed to teach, through a learning-by-doing application, how important marketing accounting is to the whole firm, and why every business graduate should have a solid understanding of marketing accounting is tested using an exam and satisfaction survey. Performance on the exam and satisfaction with the tutorial depended more on better study practice than time spent studying. Having taken the required business accounting and statistics courses had little impact on performance, satisfaction, and perceived usefulness of the content, suggesting that students from other schools taking the introduction to marketing course were not at a significant disadvantage. The major takeaway is that marketing accounting can be successfully taught in the core introduction to marketing course in business schools and, if so taught, may address some major substance and image problems that marketing education faces. (Contains 3 tables and 2 notes.)

An authentic learning strategy fostering students' active learning was studied using the scenario of a real-world project. Students from two different classes at two different universities worked as clients or consultants to develop an apparel sourcing strategy. Quantitative and qualitative data were gathered from 44 undergraduates enrolled in apparel and merchandising classes to assess students' learning experiences from the project. According to the findings, students had a positive learning experience overall, gaining practical competencies and experiences from various perspectives needed to solve the problems. These results were further confirmed by emerging themes in the qualitative data--namely, improved communication skills, enhanced professionalism through real-world experiences, team building, learning through interaction, and improved research skills. The evidence suggests that incorporating an authentic learning strategy in higher education by providing real-world experiences can benefit students' learning and build their professional competence. (Contains 1 table.)

Although sales of athletic team merchandise (ATM) contribute to the overall consumption of sport, a research effort that comprehensively measures aspects that trigger the consumption of ATM is lacking. In light of the gap, utilizing multiple theories and other concepts that describe product consumption, the authors of this article empirically examined a theoretical model to explain ATM purchasing intention. Seven hundred thirty-six individuals who had previously purchased ATM participated in the surveys. The confirmatory factor analyses suggests that the ATM model, consisting of personal values, team identification, brand attitude, past expenditure, perceived product attributes, expectancy disconfirmation, satisfaction, and purchase intention, has good psychometric properties, and is a good measurement for the purchase intention of ATM. Comprehensiveness of the model suggests researchers should measure factors explaining various commonly occurring consumption activities at a domain level. (Contains 3 tables.)

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate interns' supervisory support expectations, psychological contract obligations, job satisfaction, perception of advancement opportunities and affective organisational commitment in an attempt to gain a better understanding of how these variables influence interns' conversion intentions. Design/methodology/approach: This study focuses on college juniors and seniors who were enrolled in retail/service programs at one of three major US universities, and successfully completed a retail/service internship. An online survey was used to assess the influence of interns' psychological contract expectations regarding employer obligations, supervisory support expectations, job satisfaction, perception of advancement opportunities, and affective organisational commitment on interns' conversion intentions (intent to accept an offer for full-time employment). Findings: Findings indicate that employers can establish a foundation for intern retention by fulfilling obligations, both implicitly and explicitly. Furthermore, to ensure continued success of their interns, retailers should rely on supervisors and/or mentors to provide guidance, support and feedback. Research limitations/implications: Research is limited to students who completed a retail/service internship during 2008. Practical implications: Results provide practical implications to aid in internship program development, assist in interns' educational and professional development, and enhance the likelihood of successful conversion of interns to employees for retail/service businesses. Originality/value: This paper is based on actual feedback from interns. Findings will assist retailers in identifying how they can differentiate their internship programs from their competitors', and how they can increase internship conversion rates. Additionally, the paper identifies salient factors that motivate interns to accept an offer for full-time employment from their internship company. (Contains 3 tables and 2 figures.)