American Marketing Association Research Articles

Transitioning to New Paradigms for Societally Impactful Research: Recommendations from the TCR Impact Task Force and an Agenda

Marketing scholars increasingly aim to research social and policy problems to create and implement solutions with relevant stakeholders that drive societal impact. In 2022, Transformative Consumer Research and the American Marketing Association sponsored the first TCR-AMA Impact Festival, celebrating societally impactful research in marketing. Results and reflections from the conference point to successes and significant challenges facing scholars who seek to do research with societal impact. A TCR Impact Task Force of leading marketing and consumer scholars was surveyed in a two-stage Delphi study to understand these opportunities and obstacles more deeply and prioritize next steps for the academic community. The results provide an agenda for transformative consumer and marketing research. This agenda provokes fresh thinking for paradigm-level changes by advocating new research validities, methods of stakeholder engagement, initiatives for developing researchers’ capacities, and more substantial institutional support to accelerate the success of impactful academic research.

5 questions with: Carrie Phillips of University of Arkansas at Little Rock

Carrie Phillips is the Chief Communications and Marketing Officer at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Phillips has a Doctorate in Education from Texas Tech University. Prior to her role at UA Little Rock, she spent more than a decade in marketing at Arkansas Tech University. Active in the industry and in her community, Carrie also serves on various boards and committees, including the Council for Advancement & Support of Education (CASE), American Marketing Association, Higher Education Web Professionals, and the Boy Scouts of America. She's a frequent speaker on the higher ed conference circuit.

5 questions with: Carrie Phillips of University of Arkansas at Little Rock

Carrie Phillips is the Chief Communications and ­Marketing Officer at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Phillips has a Doctorate of Education from Texas Tech University. Prior to her role at UA Little Rock, she spent more than a decade in marketing at Arkansas Tech University. Active in the industry and in her community, Carrie also serves on various boards and committees, including the Council for Advancement & Support of Education (CASE), American Marketing Association, Higher Education Web Professionals, and the Boy Scouts of America. She's a frequent speaker on the higher ed conference circuit.

The 2022 who went where in supply chain management

AbstractThe inaugural Who Went Where in Supply Chain Management (SCM) survey replicates the 19‐year format from the highly successful American Marketing Association (AMA) Doctoral Special Interest Group. Results provide data about newly minted doctoral graduates in the job‐seeking stage of their doctoral programs. The report is based on their responses and offers insight into the competitiveness of doctoral applicants as they sought starting positions. We adapted the AMA survey report to the field of SCM. As the new researchers and academics with SCM doctorates place themselves into academic and nonacademic positions, the report seeks to provide (1) awareness to PhD students on how to prepare and be competitive in the job market and (2) offer acumen to academic leaders to equip doctoral students and shape their doctoral program requirements to enhance competitiveness.

Trading In Our Lederhosen for Kilts

The popularity of direct-to-consumer genetic ancestry services has exploded over the past five years, with as many as 250 direct-to-consumer genetic ancestry testing companies currently operating and estimates that 1 in 5 Americans are customers of one or more of those companies. Marketing of genetic ancestry testing has consistently linked the results of DNA testing to a consumer’s racial and ethnic identity, and, because of that, can help consumers find out “who they really are.” We argue that the “biologization” of race and ethnicity promoted in such marketing violates norms of marketing ethics. In particular, we show that this marketing technique violates a number of the core commitments and values of the American Marketing Association Statement of Ethics.

The First 25 Years of Digital Marketing Education Research: A Thematic Exploration and an Agenda for Future Inquiry

The internet has changed marketing education and disrupted the traditional approach to teaching marketing. Digital marketing as a field of study is a dynamic discipline that requires educators to evaluate their curricula and teaching methods constantly. This research reviews the digital marketing education research over the past 25 years to gauge the current standing of the extant literature. A multi-step process with specific research goals was implemented to assess the current state. First, a thematic review of the literature based on the modules of capabilities developed by the Digital Marketing Institute and the American Marketing Association contributed to identifying four eras of digital marketing education research. Next, the authors assess areas of research coinciding with the topical review to assess relevant research in each area. We conclude with recommendations for research to fill the gaps, including calls for work in search engine optimization, analytics, and email marketing, as well as greater attention when submitting article keywords, as finding papers when searching EBSCO or Web of Science depends on relevant keywords.

Green Marketing: Benefits and Challenges for Marketers

The term ‘Green marketing’ was first used by the American Marketing Association (AMA) in 1975. According to the American Marketing Association, green marketing is the marketing of products that are environmentally safe. The present exploratory paper is descriptive in nature and is based on secondary data derived from online databases like SSRN, Research Gate, etc. It attempts to study various aspects of green marketing. Increased sensitivity to environmental protection has given a boost to green practices. Firms are motivated to adopt green marketing strategies due to a number of reasons like customer's preference for environmentally sound products/services, governmental pressure, competitive pressure, long term cost advantage and tag of a socially responsible firm. Green marketing helps to boost sales, reduce operating and production costs, helps to decrease the long-term risks of depletion of resources, promote corporate social responsibility, etc. The present study focuses on the meaning of Green Marketing, the push factors of going green in business, the benefits of green marketing, and various challenges in the adoption of green marketing. The study concludes that it is still in its infancy stage and faces many challenges such as lack of cooperation, lack of consumer awareness, a trade-off between short-term and long-term cost-benefit analysis, perils of green myopia and limited scientific knowledge. Businesses should attempt to overcome these challenges and adopt green marketing because the present time is favorable to capitalize on this new trend given the emergency kind of situation of our environment and increasing eco-sensitivity of consumers.

Green Marketing: An Ethical and Anti-Environmental Resilient Approach for Sustainable Business

Green Marketing is not a novel concept in the field of marketing. The American Marketing Association designates green marketing as an essential tool of marketing that promotes environmentally friendly products. In line with this thought, the present study attempts to show that green marketing practices entail the core elements of sustainability i.e., social responsibility, environmental concern and economic growth that reinforce in promoting sustainable development. Besides, it also argues that though there are many overarching implications and challenges in green marketing practices yet it substantially contributes in attaining sustainable development goals by incorporating ethical standards in all of its operational antecedents. This study therefore incorporates the notion of transgenerational ethics of Kant’s Categorical Imperative in green marketing approach. In doing so, it would serve as a guiding forum to the contemporary marketers primarily to prevent the absolute anthropocentrism and pragmatically engage the interests of society, economy and environment equitably by inculcating ethical practices in daily phenomena. At the corollary, the argument shows that the imperative of ethics in green marketing would be an ethical and anti-environmental resilient approach for ensuring sustainable business.

A Comparative Study of Chinese and International Famous Brands -- Taking Tiffany&Co. and Chow Tai Seng as Examples

According to the definition of brand by the American Marketing Association: “A brand is a name, term, logo, symbol or design, or a combination of them. Its purpose is to identify the products or services of a seller or a group of sellers, and distinguish them from the products or services of competitors.” Brand comparison is to analyze the similarities and differences of brands respectively, so as to draw a conclusion that is conducive to the development of the jewelry industry. There are only a handful of Chinese corporate brands among the top 100 corporate brands worldwide. Regarding the luxury jewelry sector, a significant disparity still exists between Chinese and international brands. In this article, an international brand, Tiffany & Co., and a Chinese brand, Chow Tai Seng, will be compared and analyzed using the three dimensions of corporate culture, brand value, and inspiration in order to identify the characteristics of Chinese and foreign jewelry brands.

Marketing-as-practice: A framework and research agenda for value-creating marketing activity

This paper draws on practice theory and a review of practice theoretical studies in marketing, management, consumer, and markets research to advance our knowledge of marketing as a value-creating activity within firms. Building on previous research, the paper contributes to the literature by advancing a Marketing-as-Practice (MAP) framework based on three key concepts: marketing practices, marketing practitioners, and marketing praxis. The structures and interrelationships between these key concepts are also outlined. The framework can be used to study value-creating marketing activities within firms as well as between firms and their stakeholders which is in line with the American Marketing Association’s definition of marketing. This paper also contributes by presenting a MAP research agenda to guide future research on value-creating marketing activity.

Preparing for, withstanding, and learning from sales crises: Implications and a future research agenda

The response from many firms to the recent COVID-19 crisis underscores a more fundamental and overarching question: How should salespeople and their firms prepare for and respond to sales crises more generally? In response, a group of sales scholars recently convened at the American Marketing Association’s Winter Conference to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing salespeople and their firms before, during, and after a sales crisis. Thus, based on this session and subsequent follow-up discussions, this paper develops a framework detailing how the sales function should prepare for, withstand, and learn from a sales crisis. In so doing, we argue that sales crises can originate internally and externally to an organization and can impact the entire sales organization, the sales manager, and/or individual salespeople. Moreover, viewing a sales crisis simply as a turning point rather than a devastating event, we highlight the implications for salespeople and their managers who must inevitably deal with sales crises and the changes involved. Finally, we conclude with potential future directions for sales scholars interested in exploring the impact of crises on the sales function, as the next sales crisis is likely just around the corner.

A Study On Green Products & Green Marketing From The Students' Perspective In Kolkata

As society becomes more concerned about environmental protection, numerous firms and customers have expressed their concern for the impact of products on the environment. The emphasis is on 'green' environmentally friendly items that are critical to long-term sustainable development. India is also paying increasing attention to environmentally friendly production and consumption in support of environmental concerns and sustainable growth. One of the reasons for the emergence of green marketing is environmental issues. An IBM research shows, after the pandemic, ninety three (93%) percent of customers changed their attitudes about sustainability (Sharma, 2022). Green marketing is defined by the 'American Marketing Association (AMA) - as the promotion of items that are assumed to be ecologically friendly'. Green marketing and green product creation are effective ways for businesses to obtain a competitive advantage and generate consumer satisfaction (Yan & Yazdanifard, 2014). According to Adams (2020), awareness does not always equal green product purchases (isn't the best predictor of green product sales). Hearing about the green product or brand is insufficient to make a purchase. Familiarity is a higher standard than awareness because it measures the customer's knowledge and understanding of the green product or brand. The researchers believe that green marketing require greater study when it comes to the familiarity and other affecting factors. The study is aimed at to know about students' familiarity and perceptions of green products. Other factors such as willingness to learn more about green marketing, identifying green product features, preferred mode and source of gaining knowledge about green products, consideration of paying extra money to get such products etc. Students studying in undergraduate and post graduate levels in chosen colleges in Kolkata have been considered for this study

GREEN MARKETING IN INDIAN PHARMACEUTICAL MARKET: A REVIEW

According to American Marketing Association- “Green marketing is the marketing of the products that are presumed to be environmentally safe”. Green marketing has arisen as an answer to the growing concern of the environmental state which has a huge influence on the society’s well-being. Green marketing is a holistic management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying the requirements of customers and society, in a profitable and sustainable way. Sustainable business practices are important not only for today but also for securing business tomorrow. This paper propounds a literature evaluation on pharmaceutical green marketing consisting of the definition of green marketing, implementations of it at various stages, green marketing adoption by organizations and pharmaceutical groups based on advertising techniques, and consumer’s viewpoint towards green marketing and pharma market in India. Data collected over ten-year period results in objective which measures the impact of green marketing aspects consisting of green marketing strategies, green consumers, green communication, green segmentation and targeting, green supply chain and its management, green promoting approaches on the overall performance of pharmaceutical groups in India. Consumer's viewpoint in the direction of green products attracted the pharmaceuticals firm most. Though numerous researches have been carried out on green marketing, there is a dearth of papers that takes pharmaceutical green marketing into account and this paper focuses on the essential aspects of green pharmaceutical marketing.

An exploratory study of theories of green marketing and its practices

One business area where environmental issues have received a great deal of discussion in the popular and professional press is marketing. Terms like "Green Marketing" and "Environmental marketing" appear frequently in the popular press. Many governments around the world have also become so concerned about green marketing activities. Attention was drawn to the subject in late1970’s when the American Marketing Association organized a workshop on Ecological Marketing in 1975. Green Marketing has been an important academic research topic since its inception. But at the same time one of the biggest problems with the green marketing area is that there has been little attempt to academically examine environmental or green marketing. Although environmental issues influence all human activities, few academic disciplines have integrated green issues into their literature. The aim of the study was to explore research and real-life examples of green marketing that may help in future empirical research. This paper attempts to examine the concept and evolution of green marketing, identify what makes marketing green. An attempt has also been made to discuss some examples of green marketing practices in Indian context and ascertain the ways to improve consumer appeal for environmentally preferable products through different marketing strategies.

A Study on Consumer’s Preference Towards Green Products in Thoothukudi

Green marketing is also termed as environmental marketing or ecological marketing. According to the American Marketing Association, “marketing of products that are presumed to be environmentally safe is called as Green Marketing”. Green or environment friendly products like low power consuming (energy-efficient) electrical appliances, organic food, lead free paints, recyclable paper, and phosphate free detergents are increasingly sold in the Indian market owing to the recent awareness about green products among consumers. The study has looked into the factors influencing consumers to buy green products. The paper presents the results of a survey of 110 consumers in Thoothukudi. The study is based on primary data collected from the respondents. Additionally, the socio-economic profile of the respondents was examined. Percentage analysis, Garrett ranking technique, Likert’s scaling technique and factor analysis were used for analysing the data. In India, green marketers have diverse and fairly sizeable segments to cater to. Therefore, green marketers must find an opportunity to enhance the performance of green products through proper campaigns.

A STUDY ON THE GROWING PROCLIVITY TOWARDS GREEN MARKETING: ITS OPPORTUNITIES AND IMPLICATIONS

With rapid increase in population,the planet is pressurized with heavy consumption of goods and services,which has lead to degradation of environment of the planet. Imbalance has caused due to heavy depletion of natural resources which further paved path to problems such as Climate Change, Global Warming, Disasters like Tsunami and Earthquakes etc,Thus there are many issues and problems which are posing problems to all the countries on the earth. This has created the stung reactions from active group of environmentalists. Government intervention has become essential to fix things up.Thus pressure from public cry of active environmentalists, government policies and other stake holders are putting pressure on companies to produce products, which are in tune with the environment.This led to a new jargon in the production and marketing arena, called as “Green marketing”. American Marketing Association, defines Green marketing as “marketing of products that are presumed to be environmentally safe. A holistic and responsible strategic management process that identifies, anticipates, satisfies and fulfils stakeholder needs,for a reasonable reward,that does not adversely affect human or natural environmental well-being”. Green marketing incorporates a broad range of activities, including product modification, change to the production process, as well as modifying advertising. Thus “Green marketing” refers to holistic marketing concept wherein the production, marketing consumption and disposal of products and services happen in a manner which are ultimately environmental friendly.Now,both buyers and sellers have developed the concern about the future of the world and as its effects on customers buying attitude for preferring environment friendly or eco-friendly products.By considering this change in preferences of customers the production companies have changed their production process and are tending to produce more eco-friendly products.This paper analyses,the growth trends,opportunities and challenges in the way of achieving green marketing attempts.

A STUDY ON THE GROWING PROCLIVITY TOWARDS GREEN MARKETING: ITS OPPORTUNITIES AND IMPLICATIONS

With rapid increase in population,the planet is pressurized with heavy consumption of goods and services,which has lead to degradation of environment of the planet. Imbalance has caused due to heavy depletion of natural resources which further paved path to problems such as Climate Change, Global Warming, Disasters like Tsunami and Earthquakes etc,Thus there are many issues and problems which are posing problems to all the countries on the earth. This has created the stung reactions from active group of environmentalists. Government intervention has become essential to fix things up.Thus pressure from public cry of active environmentalists, government policies and other stake holders are putting pressure on companies to produce products, which are in tune with the environment.This led to a new jargon in the production and marketing arena, called as “Green marketing”. American Marketing Association, defines Green marketing as “marketing of products that are presumed to be environmentally safe. A holistic and responsible strategic management process that identifies, anticipates, satisfies and fulfils stakeholder needs,for a reasonable reward,that does not adversely affect human or natural environmental well-being”. Green marketing incorporates a broad range of activities, including product modification, change to the production process, as well as modifying advertising. Thus “Green marketing” refers to holistic marketing concept wherein the production, marketing consumption and disposal of products and services happen in a manner which are ultimately environmental friendly.Now,both buyers and sellers have developed the concern about the future of the world and as its effects on customers buying attitude for preferring environment friendly or eco-friendly products.By considering this change in preferences of customers the production companies have changed their production process and are tending to produce more eco-friendly products.This paper analyses,the growth trends,opportunities and challenges in the way of achieving green marketing attempts.

Sales management, education, and scholarship across cultures: early findings from a global study and an agenda for future research

While interest from the practitioner community in topics pertaining to global sales forces continues to accelerate, academic sales research that examines the challenges faced by these salespeople and their firms continues to lag behind. In response, the American Marketing Association (AMA) Sales Special Interest Group (Sales SIG) has recently developed an initiative designed to increase access to global sales force data. The initiative provides periodic, “snapshots” of the profession, via survey data, that can be used to guide sales scholars’ research agendas and provide critical insight into challenges facing salespeople across the globe. Recently, a group of sales scholars gathered to discuss the initial survey results from B2B salespeople in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Australia, and India. This manuscript reveals the interesting commonalities—and distinctions—between salespeople in those various countries on issues related to turnover, education and training, compensation, bureaucracy, technology usage, ethics, and macro-level challenges. Additionally, a subsequent discussion of the results, which we detail in this manuscript, reveals fruitful and important future research opportunities for sales scholars interested in global sales research.

Brand imitation in the modern simulacrum market versus marketing ethics

The article presents some brand imitation issues considering the specific features of the contemporary postmodern economy where tangible items (products) are factually replaced with their simulacra (brands). The contradiction between the “spirit and letter” of the American Marketing Association Code of Ethics and the opportunities to violate its rules while branding is highlighted. It is shown that brands represented as simulacra open extensive opportunities for imitating brand leaders. A semantic ramification of terms “brand leader” and “brand imitator” in Anglophone Internet environments is represented. A typology of brand leader imitation methods with relevant examples and comments is given. The concept of “consumer confusion” is clarified and the factors determining the impact of imitated brand leaders on consumer behavior are systemized and analytically described. The legal aspects of a brand imitation strategy (proactive and reactive options) are briefly discussed. The article is supplied with relevant tables and pics.

A Tribute to Abdul Ali (1957 – 2018)

Abdul Ali, a dear colleague at Babson College and a valued leader in the American Marketing Association Entrepreneurial Marketing Special Interest Group and the Global Research Symposium for Marketing and Entrepreneurship, brought knowledge, humility, and laughter to all he did, whether it be in teaching, research, or service. He was at the forefront of entrepreneurial marketing, and he dedicated much of his professional life to its advancement. Co-editing this special issue of the Journal of Macromarketing was a great source of pride and honor for him. In his personal life, Abdul was proud of his wife and two daughters; their accomplishments were his accomplishments. He also spoke so highly of his siblings, and he cherished the time that he was able to spend with his parents. Abdul’s passing is a great loss to all of us, and we have attempted to capture his essence in this memoriam.