Commercial Market Research Research Articles

Potential financial impact on television networks of a ban on alcohol advertising during sports broadcasts in Australia

ObjectiveThis study aimed to assess the potential financial impacts on Australian television networks of a ban on alcohol advertising during sports broadcasts. MethodsWe analysed television advertising data from Nielsen, a commercial market research company. The data included details of all advertisements (ads) for the 10 highest‐spending alcohol brands on free‐to‐air television networks in the five largest capital cities in Australia over a 12‐month period (November 2018–October 2019). We estimated alcohol advertising spend during sports broadcasts. Financial value per network was estimated using ad duration and total spend per channel. ResultsThere were 10,660 alcohol ads (average of 75 minutes per week) shown during sports broadcasts, amounting to A$14.4 million in revenue to television networks. Forty‐five per cent of these ads were at children's viewing times. Channel Seven received the largest amount of alcohol advertising revenue (A$20.8 million), of which A$10.8 million (52.0%) was during sports broadcasts (0.5% of its total advertising revenue). ConclusionsAlcohol advertising during sports broadcasts is pervasive but contributes a relatively small proportion of revenue for television networks. Implications for public healthA ban on alcohol advertising during sport broadcasts is unlikely to have major financial impacts on broadcasters, whilst the health and social benefits are potentially substantial.

MÉTODOS DE LA GESTIÓN DEL GOBIERNO Y EMPRESARIAL

The fifth volume and second number of 2021 of the Cuban Journal of Public and Business Administration includes original articles, good practices and case studies, highlighting the issues of government and business management with their approaches, methods and applications. The topics are addressed: Balanced Scorecard of government management, inclusion project of the environmental assessment of transport, tax culture, innovation in the rice agroecosystem and in the pharmaceutical value chain, salary and socialist business development, management of the quality in projects, economic and commercial cooperation, market research and documentation of human resource process management.

Misperception of entrepreneurship and its consequences for the perception of entrepreneurial failure – the German case

PurposeThis study aims to investigate how Germans' misperceptions of the nature of entrepreneurship influence their attitudes towards entrepreneurial failure.Design/methodology/approachAdopting a multivariate regression analysis, the study used data collected from a commercial online market research panel (N = 2,027) reflecting the overall German working population. Attitudinal items on business failure were used to measure the study variables. The study controlled for age, education, employment status, gender, income, whether the respondent knows a failed entrepreneur and the German federal state in which the respondent resides.FindingsThe findings suggest that reservations about failed entrepreneurs become stronger as misperceptions of the nature of entrepreneurship worsen. The results also show that failure reservations vary regionally over the 16 German federal states.Practical implicationsNationwide efforts regarding the stimulation of entrepreneurship and the acceptance of entrepreneurial failure are insufficient for removing failure reservations, as they neglect regional cultural differences. The results suggest that it is not enough just to invest in efforts to create a failure-friendly culture, and that a better general education about the realities of entrepreneurship is a prerequisite.Originality/valueThe study generates insights into how the overall population in an innovation-driven economy perceives entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial failure. Moreover, the work delves into the reasons why parts of German society reject failed entrepreneurs. Hence, this study can aid the drafting of effective policy initiatives at the regional and national levels.

Causality in qualitative market and social research

PurposeAcademic qualitative researchers have been criticized for rejecting the idea that their research can establish causality while market and social researchers, with their realist and pragmatic approach to research, take for granted that it can. This paper aims to explore the ability of qualitative research to determine cause and effect in terms of market and social phenomena.Design/methodology/approachThe literature on causality in qualitative research is reviewed and discussed. The discussion is further informed by the author’s own experience of undertaking commercial and academic market and social qualitative research over the past 33 years.FindingsIn qualitative market and social research, the determination of causality is often needed but rarely discussed. This paper explores this occurrence and brings to the fore, via discussion and the use of example, the ways in which causality can be determined by qualitative research.Practical implicationsA determination of what events bring about predictable changes in social and market environments can be established via qualitative research particularly at a probabilistic level of causality. This implies that policymakers should give a greater emphasis to qualitative findings than then sometimes do at the moment.Originality/valueCausality in market and social research is rarely discussed by practitioners but is nevertheless a premise of much of the qualitative research that is undertaken. This paper is therefore distinctive in that it examines whether this premise is justifiable.

Extending the Generalized Multinomial Logit Model: Error Scale and Decision-Maker Characteristics

This essay contributes to the development of models that allow for heterogeneity across respondents in the error scale of the multinomial logit model. The potential to explain respondent heterogeneity by differences in error scale has been recognized for some time (Louviere 2001), but models that allow for continuous error scale heterogeneity have only recently been developed (Sonnier, Ainslie and Otter 2007, Keane et al. 2009). The most general of these models is the “Generalized Multinomial Logit Model” (G-MNL), which allows for heterogeneity both in error scale and all attribute preferences, including the price attribute (Keane et al. 2009). We further develop the G-MNL by proposing a Bayesian estimation strategy, allowing for straightforward incorporation of decision-maker characteristics as covariates to individual-level error scale, in a way that is computationally tractable. In a data set on personal computer (PC) choices in a survey setting (Lenk et al. 1996), we find that respondents who are older have higher average error scale indicating that they make less reliable decisions than those who are younger. Respondents who perceive themselves to be expert when it comes to making PC choices have lower average error scale, indicating that they make more reliable choices. These findings are consistent with recent theorizing on the relationship between cognitive resources and error scale (Swait and Adamowicz 2001). We also facilitate the use of G-MNL in practice by empirically exploring the data requirements for obtaining accurate estimates of the G-MNL and find that estimating this model requires a somewhat larger number of respondents and a larger number of observed choices per respondent than is typical in commercial market research.

From the Ringstraße to Madison Avenue: Commercial Market Research and the Viennese Origins of the Mass-Culture Debate, 1941–61

Paul Lazarsfeld's social research organizations, as centres for cosmopolitan refugees who pioneered communications studies, were instrumental in producing some of the most prominent mass-culture critics in the post-war US—both native and émigré—including C. Wright Mills, Leo Lowenthal, Theodor Adorno, and David Riesman. But among Lazarsfeld's fellow Viennese colleagues, perhaps the most prominent in the contemporary popular mind was Ernest Dichter, a psychological consultant to marketers who probed the unconscious of consumer subjects in an effort to reveal their hidden motivations. Dichter was not a critic of mass culture but rather a celebrant who was embraced by the American business class. He entered into the public sphere, however, as the subject of criticism in journalist Vance Packard's exposé The Hidden Persuaders. Lazarsfeld saw no essential contradiction between the critics of mass culture and its industrial purveyors; instead, he saw these forces existing in a dialectical relationship with one another. In this sense, it was no accident that his research institutes nurtured both cultural critics and the agents of industrial mass society.

Usage of Islamic banking and financial services by US Muslims

There is limited published research on Islamic marketing in the USA. DinarStandard, a commercial marketing research firm which specialises in the Muslim market released findings from a consumer market research study in 2011, which they updated in 2014/2015 which included an estimate of the usage of Islamic banking and financial services by Muslims residing in the USA. This paper presents some findings from a different investigator from data collected in late 2014 which provides evidence that the usage rate of these products and services may be much higher than estimated by DinarStandard. The evidence is based on a nationwide representative sample (n = 251) of individuals between 18 and 54 who reside in the USA and self-identify as Muslims. The sample was obtained using a qualtrics online panel. In addition, the paper provides insight into the most popular Islamic banking and financial service products that US Muslims have had experience with or use. Providers of banking and financial services in the USA should find the information useful in determining the attractiveness of segmenting and targeting the American Muslim market and developing Shariah compliant products and services to meet the segment's needs.

Consumers’ attitudes about milk quality and fertilization methods in dairy cows in Germany

Major advances in assisted reproductive technologies have improved reproductive efficiency in dairy cattle. However, these developments occurred regardless of the perception of consumers, who often distrust biotechnology in food production. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate consumers’ attitudes toward reproductive management practices in dairy cattle. In November 2012, 1,646 participants were interviewed by a commercial market research institute. Participants were selected from all regions and demographic categories to represent the general public in Germany. Seven questions regarding milk-drinking preferences and reproductive technologies were asked in face-to-face interviews. Descriptive statistics and multivariable logistic regression models were used. The majority of people drank milk at least weekly (63%) and found the taste of milk important (60%). Most people perceived advanced reproductive technologies negatively [e.g., the use of sexed semen (53%), embryo transfer (58%), cloning (81%), and hormone treatments to increase fertility (65%)]. Many people lacked basic knowledge about milk production (22% did not know that cows only give milk after calving; 51% did not know that milk naturally contains hormones); however, participants with a high school education, older participants, and those who had concerned themselves with dairy farming were more knowledgeable. Education and providing information might help to inform the public about reproductive management practices in dairy cows.

The Lingering Effects of Tobacco Control Advertising

In commercial market research, “pulsing” advertising is found to be more cost-effective than placing advertisements continuously. However, the benefits of pulsing policy in social marketing have rarely been tested. This study explores the lingering effect of tobacco control advertising. If the effects of tobacco control advertisements linger beyond the time they are on-air, this would provide a theoretical basis for using pulsing policy in tobacco control campaigns. This study analyzed responses from two independent samples of smokers and recent quitters, where respondents reported whether they were exposed to any tobacco control advertising in the last week. Sample 1 was cross-sectional ( n = 3,106), and Sample 2 followed a self-refreshed panel methodology where 846 participants were interviewed for up to 6 times (3,120 interviews). Both studies used the same survey instrument and were in field concurrently. Eighty percent of Sample 1 reported recent exposure to advertising. This was strikingly similar to the response from Sample 2 recorded at their first interview (81%). However, panel members’ self-reported exposure to campaigns decreased at each subsequent interview (approximately a fortnight apart) and eventually reached 56% at the sixth interview. Building on the premises of priming theory, the first response from each Sample 2 respondent represented his or her intuitive thought—a result of the lingering effect of advertising. The drop in recall over time could be due to respondents self-correcting their responses after being primed in the previous surveys. Our findings suggest the effects of tobacco control campaigns linger and support the use of pulsing policy in tobacco control advertising.

The origin and success of qualitative research

Qualitative research has at last achieved full respectability in the academic sphere, and the success of commercial qualitative market research is demonstrably substantial. This article traces the history of qualitative research back to the time when both strands meet, in an academic source aware of the commercial value of applied psychology, drawing upon techniques that seek to explore and explain human behaviour. It is argued that the modern understanding of qualitative research comprises a ‘package’ of component parts, and that the essential elements of these were first identifiable, beginning in 1925, in the work and advocacy of the psychologist, Paul Felix Lazarsfeld.

Advertising, Commercial Spaces and the Urban

Introducing Commercial Spaces The Industry and the City: Knowledge Practices as Commercial Experiments Mobility, Market Research and Commercial Aesthetics The Commodity Rhythms of Urban Space Fabulating Commercial Spaces: Mediation, Texts, and Perception Perceiving Urban Change in Detroit and Manchester: Space, Time and the Virtual The Commercial Vernacular of Advertising: Public Space, Commercialisation and Public Address

Framing a public health debate over alcohol advertising: The Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth 2002–2008

The experiences of the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth from 2002 to 2008 in re-framing a major public health issue and influencing public policy offer lessons for other public health movements. The Center pioneered new ways to use commercial market research data in public health surveillance and public debate. Combining a steady stream of reports and peer-reviewed articles with state and federal organizing and media advocacy, the Center re-framed a policy debate over alcohol marketing and youth, enabling measurable progress.

Government/business relations: an agency-theory perspective on the procurement of market research

The purpose of this conceptual paper is to provide a brief description and review of the agency theory literature in ultimately proposing that agency theory may provide a novel and potentially useful foundation for analysing (for researchers) and influencing (for managers) the nature of contractual relations between government departments that secure the services of commercial market research firms. The methodological approach involves a non-exhaustive review of literature addressing agency theory and public sector procurement from commercial sources. Although this paper is primarily targeted at academics with an interest in studying the relationships between market research providers and public sector market research users, there are some practical managerial implications that are discussed. Thus far in the extant marketing literature, there has been no suggestion that an agent theoretical perspective can contribute to both the study and management of government/business relationships related to the procurement of market research.

P235 BLF and BTS "Ready for home" survey of patients admitted to hospital with COPD: the hospital experience

<h3>Introduction and Objectives</h3> The patient experience is an important component of the quality of care. The objective of this survey was to explore the experiences of patients who were admitted to hospital with an exacerbation of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). <h3>Methods</h3> Patients were asked about their last hospital admission for COPD using a 14-item, self-administered questionnaire. They were approached through Breathe Easy groups, the British Lung Foundation website and a commercial market research panel <h3>Results</h3> 307 COPD patients responded to the survey of whom 83% were aged ≥56 years; 89% had established COPD (diagnosed &gt;12 months), and 39% had been admitted to hospital within the last 12 months. Only 45% were aware that “exacerbation” had been the cause of their admission. 56% had ≥24 h notice of illness prior to admission and 43% initiated the admission themselves, without contacting a health care professional (HCP). Only 25% patients felt ‘very’ confident that they were ready for their hospital discharge and 26% in their ability to cope at home. 34% patients felt very well informed about their COPD, the reasons for admission and their ability to identify early signs of an exacerbation. Only 37% were very reassured at receiving adequate support at home and only 24% were very positive about the future. 75% patients wanted more information regarding the reasons for their admission, 80% on treatment choices, 68% on COPD patient organisations, 78% on HPC support available at home and 69% on lifestyle, social and other coping problems. More contact from HCP support services and support via a telephone helpline were also requested (75% and 64%, respectively). Despite this, 60% felt ‘very’ confident about how and when to take their medications. <h3>Conclusions</h3> Hospital admission remains a significant risk to patients with established COPD, especially if they have had previous admissions. Data suggest that many patients feel unready for hospital discharge and are poorly prepared for the future management of their COPD. Hospital admission should be taken as an opportunity to provide patients with more information on COPD and available support services.

Choice probability for apple juice based on novel processing techniques: Investigating the choice relevance of mean-end-chains

The main aim of this study is to investigate an old challenge for means-end chain (MEC) theory; the lack of demonstration for means-end chains choice relevance. Even though MEC has become a commonly used tool in commercial market research and has been widely used in applied consumer research, within the core of academic consumer research, MEC has been almost ignored. One plausible explanation for this lack of interest may be that studies linking MEC data to choice have been few. In this study, we are to investigate how values and consequences generated from a previous MEC study structure can be linked to likelihood of choice. Hypotheses about European consumers’ likelihood of choice for novel processed juice are stated and tested in a rating based conjoint study in Norway, Denmark, Hungary and Slovakia. In the study, consumers probability of choice for high pressure processed (HPP) juice and pulsed electric field (PEF) juice are compared with their probability of choice for pasteurized juice and freshly produced apple juice, and consumer choices are tried explained by values and consequences generated from a MEC study. The study support, at least partly, that means-end chain structures’ have choice relevance.

Ethics in Practice

Survey researchers face declining response rates, due to lower contactability and more selective cooperation by potential respondents. Commercial market research companies are under even greater pressure than academic researchers as most commercial surveys do not have high social status. Several persuasion techniques to enhance cooperation have been used in academic surveys, though some of them might be considered unethical. Given the commercial pressures of time and cost, this study investigated the extent to which market research companies favoured these persuasion techniques. A survey of fieldwork managers in companies operating in Australia was conducted, along with qualitative research. It was found that some techniques were unacceptable as they threatened long-term relationships with the public, some were impractical and others were useful, but not for all surveys.

Transaction Data: Commercial Transaction Surveys and Test Market Data

Commercial transaction surveys and test market data are important sources for the analysis of consumer behaviour in various markets. The advantage of these surveys is that they do not only rely on 'weak' data of consumers but also on 'measured' data (eg. sales information, marketing information etc.) The key questions for the analysis of commercial transaction surveys and test market data are the prospective evaluation of market success for launched or relaunched products and services, the influence of marketing and media on product purchases under 'real market conditions' and comparison between the test market and the total market. These data are not yet used by the scientific community. There are three major challenges to get access to the data. The owners of the data (market research institutes/'clients') have to allow data access. The data must be anonymized in various ways (individuals/households, brands/products) without losing relevant information. Furthermore it is necessary to develop quality guidelines for commercial transaction surveys and test market data. In order to setup the process the RATSWD should initiate a project of official statistics, scientific community and commercial market research.

Accounting for practice in commercial qualitative market research

Accounting for practice in commercial qualitative market research

Market Share Constraints and the Loss Function in Choice-Based Conjoint Analysis

Choice-based conjoint analysis is a popular marketing research technique to learn about consumers' preferences and to make market share forecasts under various scenarios for product offerings. Managers expect these forecasts to be “realistic” in terms of being able to replicate market shares at some prespecified or “base-case” scenario. Frequently, there is a discrepancy between the recovered and base-case market share. This paper presents a Bayesian decision theoretic approach to incorporating base-case market shares into conjoint analysis via the loss function. Because defining the base-case scenario typically involves a variety of management decisions, we treat the market shares as constraints on what are acceptable answers, as opposed to informative prior information. Our approach seeks to minimize the adjustment of parameters by using additive factors from a normal distribution centered at 0, with a variance as small as possible, but such that the market share constraints are satisfied. We specify an appropriate loss function, and all estimates are formally derived via minimizing the posterior expected loss. We detail algorithms that provide posterior distributions of constrained and unconstrained parameters and quantities of interest. The methods are demonstrated using discrete choice models with simulated data and data from a commercial market research study. These studies indicate that the method recovers base-case market shares without systematically distorting the preference structure from the conjoint experiment.

CAQDAS: a supplementary tool for qualitative market research

PurposeThe aims of the paper are twofold: to assess the usage of Computer Assisted Qualitative Data Analysis (CAQDAS) in the UK market research industry; and to evaluate the use of CAQDAS as a supplement to paper‐coding in market research.Design/methodology/approachCAQDAS usage was assessed by a questionnaire, sent to a sample of 400 UK market researchers. The second part of the research is a case study of a research experiment. The authors conducted focus group research into online grocery shopping, supplementing a paper‐coding‐based analysis with a further analysis based on computer coding.FindingsUsage of CAQDAS in commercial market research is very low at only 9 percent. The research suggests that CAQDAS can be a useful supplement to traditional methods. Using computer software, the paper was able to mine the data for more detail; clearly identify minority views; and produce a useful resource for future research.Research limitations/implicationsThe survey response rate was 38 percent, but only 13 respondents used CAQDAS. Generalisation from a single experiment is problematic; the findings are affected by the research topic, research briefs and the two research analysts.Practical implicationsThe study has important implications for commercial qualitative market research. Repositioning CAQDAS as supplementary, rather than as an alternative, circumvents arguments about time pressure, and highlights its data management role.Originality/valueThis is the first large‐scale survey of qualitative research analysis in the UK market research industry. The case study describes an approach to CAQDAS that is innovative and relevant to commercial market research.