Marketing Research Approach Research Articles

Back to basics in the marketing of place: the impact of litter upon place attitudes

Attempts to apply marketing theory and principles to place have become a legitimate area of academic and ‘real world’ practice. However, place marketing does not typically incorporate all elements of the traditional 7 Ps, focusing far too often on just one of these – promotion. Besides this rather myopic approach, place marketing suffers from an overly strategic view of the world that ignores the meaning and lived experience of places to individuals, especially residents. The purpose of this article is twofold – first, we investigate the impact of litter on place attitudes. Litter is a common, but negative, element of place, which is intimately connected to the lived experience of a place but typically far removed from the positive promotional activity favoured by place marketing efforts and the study thereof. In this sense, the article reframes place marketing from a strategic to a micro-marketing endeavour. We found that exposing respondents to litter significantly lowers their place attitudes. Our second contribution is to demonstrate the relevance of classic marketing research approaches, such as attitudinal measures, to investigate litter and its impact on place evaluations, through quasi-experimental design (with 662 respondents). Through this, we extend the range of theory and method applied in place marketing – away from controllable promotional endeavours investigated through case-studies to a more holistic and robust interpretation of place marketing, which has a measurable impact upon the places where people live and visit.

Determinants of specialty choice of resident doctors; Case study- among resident doctors in Nigeria

This study examined medical specialty selection by Nigerian resident doctors using a marketing research approach to determine the selection criteria and the role of perceptions, expected remuneration, and job placement prospects of various specialties in the selection process. Data were from the Community of residents from April 2014 to July 2014. The cohort included 200 residents, but only 171 had complete information. Data were obtained from a cross section of resident doctors in the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital and at the 2014 Ordinary General Meeting of the National Association of Resident Doctors(NARD) where representatives from over 50 Teaching hospitals in Nigeria attended. Using a client behaviour model as a framework, a tripartite questionnaire was designed and administered to residents to deduce information on their knowledge about and interests in various specialties, their opinions of sixteen specialties, and the criteria they used in specialty selection. A total of 171 (85.5%) questionnaires were returned. ln many instances, consistency between selection criteria and perceptions of a specialty were accompanied by interest in pursuing the specialty. Job security, job availability on completion of programme, duration of training and qualifying examinations were highly correlated with p value < 0.05. Results of the Principal Component Analysis show two components (with Eigen values greater than one) explaining 65.3% of the total variance. The first component had placement and training and practice related variables loaded on it while the second component was loaded with job security and financial remuneration related variables. Using marketing research concepts for medical specialty selection (Weissmanet al 2012) stipulates that choice of speciality is influenced by criteria and perception. This study shows that job security expected financial remuneration, and examination requirements for qualification are major determinants of the choice of speciality for residents.

Predicting Brand Perception for Fast Food Market Entry

We present a combined and integrative market research approach to address common, but potentially neglected problems resulting from consumers’ perceptions towards food brands. Our findings provide improved response measures and guidance for market entry strategies of established and novel food brands. Two knowledge sources and methods are combined to derive a model of brand perception: experts’ opinions are elicited using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to generate an overall causal effects framework for food brands. Complementary hereto, a survey of potential consumers retrieves consumers’ perceptions regarding market entry scenarios of different food brands. A remote metropolitan area (Novosibirsk) was chosen as quasi-laboratory setting to simulate the market introduction of alternative fast food brands. Insights are gained about the interdependence of branding and advertisement effects. As expected, consumers’ attitudes towards the brand and towards the ad are the key success factors for any type of brand. Different responses depend on consumers’ expectations towards novel or established brands. Otherwise, the paper provides a proof of concept to integrate AHP and experts’ assessments with consumer surveys. Findings indicate a large potential to join external and internal perspectives for obtaining more valid market assessments before the real market entry. Managers might need to enhance their model of assessed consumer perceptions with expert opinion before entering a market in order to align their advertising accordingly. Global and local brands face distinctively different market entry barriers. Novel global brands constitute a promising alternative for a food company wishing to enter a new market. Managers need to decide whether a combined specific approach is necessary and eventually incorporate it in case of new foods brands. A novel method is introduced to assess market perceptions of food brands before the latter actually enter the market. A combined approach incorporates expert opinions to enhance incomplete consumer information. Findings indicate strong interaction effects between brand and advertisement related factors which in turn strongly influence consumers’ perceptions.

Forecasting the Commercial Attractiveness of User‐Generated Designs Using Online Data: An Empirical Study within theLEGOUser Community

Web 2.0 technologies and the rapid emergence of virtual user communities have created new challenges and opportunities for producer firms. The challenges concern the problem of idea overload when a large number of users are empowered to develop their own design creations. At the same time, opportunities arise because firm‐hosted user communities offer a promising source of creativity outside the firms' boundaries. In this paper, we study which data present in firm‐hosted online communities on user‐generated designs and user‐designers can be used to help a focal producer firm to reduce its workload in the selection phase by predicting which user‐generated designs it would most likely perceive as commercially attractive. Prior research emphasizes that among the vast amount of ideas generated in online user communities, it is the lead users' ideas that tend to stick out in terms of commercial attractiveness. Our paper aims to provide the next step by developing a heuristic for filtering commercially attractive ideas that are generated in online user communities. Therefore, prior lead user research is used as a point of reference for our study. This research stream has produced rich insights into the characteristics of users who are capable of developing new products that are commercially attractive from the perspective of a focal producer firm, as well as the characteristics of artifacts that such users tend to develop. Based on prior lead user research, we use theories on problem solving, creativity, and new product adoption to develop hypotheses on the factors that might influence the attractiveness of user‐generated designs from the focal producer firm's perspective in such a setting. Applying multilevel generalized linear modeling, 1799 designs from 116 user‐designers in theLEGOuser community are analyzed. Our findings show that three prominent variables, the complexity of a given design, positive feedback from the community on specific designs, and the intensity of design activity by a user‐designer, can be used by a focal producer firm as filtering heuristics for the selection of promising user‐generated designs. We find an invertedU‐shaped relationship between the complexity of a user‐generated design and its perceived commercial attractiveness. Furthermore, we find a positive relationship between the positive feedback received by a given user‐generated design within the peer community and its perceived commercial attractiveness, as well as aU‐shaped relationship between the intensity of a certain user‐designer's activities and the likelihood that a given design by that user will be perceived as commercially attractive. The study is a first step toward a new Web‐based marketing research approach that can enable firms to filter vast numbers of user‐generated designs more effectively and efficiently.

Value-relevance of financial statements

Purpose– The Chinese capital markets are divided into two segments comprising of A-shares (traded by domestic investors) and B-shares (traded by foreign investors). Firms issuing A-shares are required to produce accounting reports under the Chinese Accounting Standards (CAS) and firms issuing B-shares are required to report under the International Accounting Standards (IAS). The purpose of this paper is to investigate the comparative value-relevance of accounting information in the Chinese capital markets, in particular whether the value-relevance associated IAS exceeds that of CAS.Design/methodology/approach– This study undertakes a capital market research approach. Two statistical models are employed to test the value-relevance of competing accounting information on share prices: the Price Model and the Return Model. This study takes advantage of the parallel reporting frameworks governing the A-share and B-share markets buy using the same firms which issue both A-shares and B-shares.Findings– The analysis supporting the study demonstrates that both CAS and IAS information is value relevant to investors in the Chinese capital markets but that IAS provide more useful information. Additionally it is observed that reconciliation variables (representing the discrepancy between IAS- and CAS-based accounting figures) are not significant in explaining market valuation or returns on stock.Research limitations/implications– This study provides evidence of value-relevance of accounting reports on the Chinese capital markets for the period of 1999-2005. The period under investigation captures the significant development in China's accounting regulations which took place in 1998 and 2001. The recent shift in accounting regulations in China from CAS to IAS is expected to improve the dissemination of financial information by publicly listed Chinese firms.Practical implications– This study investigates the reporting requirements on the Chinese capital markets during a period in which accounting reporting requirements underwent a significant change as part of the internationalization of accounting standards. Both A- and B-share markets were investigated simultaneously in order to provide an objective analysis and avoid sampling selection bias present in other studies.Social implications– The recent shift in accounting regulations in China from CAS to IAS is expected to improve the dissemination of financial information by publicly listed Chinese firms.Originality/value– This paper extends previous research on value-relevance of accounting reports in the Chinese capital markets by capturing the period in which the reporting requirements had experienced significant change. This paper also takes advantage of the dual reporting framework in order to mitigate potential sampling bias present in previous studies and employs a reconciliation variables not previously used.

Advantages and limitations of online research method

Online marketing research approach is the most recent methodological approach to marketing research that has not been sufficiently explored yet. Despite numerous shortcomings attributed to online research method, its use is growing rapidly, especially in the developed countries. For conducting quality online marketing research, we need to maximize the opportunities and minimize restrictions of the method. It is therefore essential that the advantages and disadvantages are understood well and that potential solutions to the problems that arise in this type of research, are found. The aim of this paper is to show the advantages and disadvantages of online research based on the existing literature and to give potential solutions to problems. By comparing traditional and online marketing research methods we conclude that online research is in some areas better and in some worse than traditional research and the success of the research largely depends on: how familiar a researcher is with the advantages and disadvantages of a particular method of data collection, on the very nature of the problem and on how experimental design is defined.

Using marketing research concepts to investigate specialty selection by medical students

This study was intended to examine whether a marketing research approach improves understanding of medical specialty selection by medical students. This approach likens students to consumers who are deciding whether or not to purchase a product (specialty). This approach proposes that when consumers' criteria match their perceptions of a product's features, the likelihood that they will purchase it (select the specialty) increases. This study examines whether exploring students' selection criteria and perceptions of various specialties provides additional insights into the selection process. Using a consumer behaviour model as a framework, a questionnaire was designed and administered to Year 6 (final-year) students in 2008 and 2009 to elicit information on their knowledge about and interests in various specialties, the criteria they used in specialty selection, and their perceptions of six specialties. A total of 132 (67%) questionnaires were returned. In many instances, consistency between selection criteria and perceptions of a specialty was accompanied by interest in pursuing the specialty. Exceptions were noted and pointed to areas requiring additional research. For example, although > 70% of female students replied that the affordance of a controllable lifestyle was an important selection criterion, many were interested in obstetrics and gynaecology despite the fact that it was not perceived as providing a controllable lifestyle. Minimal overlap among students reporting interest in primary specialties that possess similar characteristics (e.g. paediatrics and family medicine) demonstrated the need to target marketing (recruitment) efforts for each specialty individually. Using marketing research concepts to examine medical specialty selection may precipitate a conceptual shift among health care leaders which acknowledges that, to attract students, specialties must meet students' selection criteria. Moreover, if consumers (students) deem a product (specialty) unattractive, it may need to be examined further to improve its appeal.

New Product Development Practices and Early‐Stage Firms: Two In‐Depth Case Studies

New product development practices (NPD) have been well studied for decades in large, established companies. Implementation of best practices such as predevelopment market planning and cross‐functional teams have been positively correlated with product and project success over a variety of measures. However, for small new ventures, field research into ground‐level adoption of NPD practices is lacking. Because of the risks associated with missteps in new product development and the potential for firm failure, understanding NPD within the new venture context is critical.Through in‐depth case research, this paper investigates two successful physical product‐based early‐stage firms' development processes versus large established firm norms. The research focuses on the start‐up adoption of commonly prescribed management processes to improve NPD, such as cross‐functional teams, use of market planning during innovation development, and the use of structured processes to guide the development team. This research has several theoretical implications.The first finding is that in comparing the innovation processes of these firms to large, established firms, the study found several key differences from the large firm paradigm. These differences in development approach from what is prescribed for large, established firms are driven by necessity from a scarcity of resources. These new firms simply did not have the resources (financial or human) to create multi‐ or cross‐functional teams or organizations in the traditional sense for their first product. Use of virtual resources was pervasive. Founders also played multiple roles concurrently in the organization, as opposed to relying on functional departments so common in large firms. The NPD process used by both firms was informal—much more skeletal than commonly recommended structured processes. The data indicated that these firms put less focus on managing the process and more emphasis on managing their goals (the main driver being getting the first product to market). In addition to little or no written procedures being used, development meetings did not run to specific paper‐based deliverables or defined steps. In terms of market and user insight, these activities were primarily performed inside the core team—using methods that again were distinctive in their approach. What drove a project to completion was relying on team experience or a “learn as you go approach.” Again, the driver for this type of truncated market research approach was a lack of resources and need to increase the project's speed‐to‐market.Both firms in our study were highly successful, from not only an NPD efficiency standpoint but also effectiveness. The second broad finding we draw from this work is that there are lessons to be learned from start‐ups for large, established firms seeking ever‐increasing efficiency. We have found that small empowered teams leading projects substantial in scope can be extremely effective when roles are expanded, decision power is ground‐level, and there is little emphasis on defined processes. This exploratory research highlights the unique aspects of NPD within small early‐stage firms, and highlights areas of further research and management implications for both small new ventures and large established firms seeking to increase NPD efficiency and effectiveness.

Visual ethnography: Achieving rigorous and authentic interpretations

Visual methods have a long history in ethnographic research and ethnographic methods are increasingly used to gain a depth of insight and understanding not achievable with traditional marketing research approaches. As a rigorous and valid research method, visual ethnography enables documentation of marketing and consumption as social and cultural phenomenon. Visual text collected through the process of cultural immersion serves as an effective and credible research tool in the quest to collect and analyze empirical evidence as well as disseminate research findings. As a case application, this paper builds on the ethnographic investigation of Schembri (2009).

Wal‐Mart is coming to Guelph: hedonic to utilitarian shoppers' perceptions

PurposeTo date few research studies exist on consumers' responses to the adoption of Wal‐Mart into towns and cities. This paper seeks to examine the expected impact of a Wal‐Mart store in a community before its arrival.Design/methodology/approachMedia reviews, participant observations and in‐depth interviews were applied. Positive and negative articles relating to Wal‐Mart as exhibited in the newspapers – the Guelph Tribune and the Guelph Mercury – were reviewed. Participant observations were conducted in three different shopping areas of Guelph: the Downtown area, the Stone Road mall area and the Willow West mall area. A total of 13 participants from these shopping areas were interviewed.FindingsOverall, this study found that the participants were receptive to the notion of Wal‐Mart coming to Guelph despite the negative publicity and strong opposition Wal‐Mart had faced in the media. Additionally, this study offered insights for this marketplace based on the consumption context of hedonic and utilitarian shoppers. The intensity of these shoppers' perceptions and beliefs were found to be different for different contexts such as retail shopping, businesses and social.Research limitations/implicationsThis study demonstrates the importance of wider contextual comprehension when trying to understand what values consumers hold for retailers in the marketplace. However, these findings are restricted by the limited range of opinions captured. A fully holistic view is only possible when taking into account the perspectives of local business owners, future Wal‐Mart employees and managers, activists, or politicians – all of whom have an impact on the situation of Wal‐Mart in Guelph.Practical implicationsInsights from this study can assist management personnel for their future expansion plans.Originality/valueThis study extends the application of consumers' value dimensions by focusing not only on consumers' hedonic and utilitarian values but also by incorporating the community context. Furthermore, it offers a multi‐method qualitative market research approach for discovering insights that would not have emerged from utilizing just one method of data collection. This is also the first study to assess consumer responses before a store's construction.

Segmenting consumers for food defense communication strategies

PurposeIn the light of lessons learned from recent disasters (The London subway bombings, and Hurricane Katrina), it has become increasingly clear that supply chain partners as well as government agencies need to be prepared to communicate effectively to consumers and customers before, during and after a disaster. Effective communication can minimize confusion and harm to company reputations, to consumers, the economy and the nation. Incorporating consistent communications into supply chain management (SCM) plans used by all parties in the supply chain will enhance competitiveness of the whole chain and speed recovery from potentially disastrous events. Findings from a national survey of consumer's attitudes about terrorism provide information about the development of targeted and effective communications.Design/methodology/approachBased on a survey of more than 4,000 US consumers, this study used “predictive segmentation” which consists of a canonical factor analysis relating general consumer attitudes and values to their more specific fears and concerns about terrorism. A clustering of consumers then identifies six diverse consumer segments providing a framework for the development of communication strategies.FindingsResults from this study demonstrate that people can be grouped based on their general attitudes and values in such a way that their diversity can be captured in a simple framework of segments each reflecting striking differences in the level of concern over potential terrorist attacks.Practical implicationsGuidance is offered for the development of communication strategies based on the information needs and media behavior of each consumer segment to mitigate the impact of a potential terrorist attack or catastrophic food safety breaches. It provides practical and logical extension of former studies that suggest incorporating consumers, attitudes into SCM and business continuity plans.Originality/valueThis study leverages a common and proven marketing research approach – segmentation – used in private industry for the marketing of goods and service. It applies this method to defining segments of consumers based on their attitudes and concerns about terrorism that will be useful in supply chain communication management.

High performance in after-sales support services in the automotive industry

In the automotive aftermarket industry, market development has become more than merely the offer of a core product portfolio. With the aim of genuine differentiation and increased customer loyalty, the so-called value-added services have been brought into the market as separate/independent services or as product-supporting services by the automotive industry. However, owing to the increasing price erosion and budget pressure in practice, it has become essential for companies to ensure the effectiveness and efficiency of the services offered. The groundwork of effective and efficient service is a market- and customer-oriented service portfolio. This in turn requires a service-controlling system based on well-founded market research within the automotive sector. Automotive managers should not hesitate to conduct market research to achieve optimised service, since customers in this sector have considerable knowledge of market success factors and an enormous aptitude to judge. To this end, market studies can provide significant insights and support a performance-oriented management of service actions. The manageable number of target customers in the automotive sector also supports the market research approach. Furthermore, the costs of market research are comparably minimal due to the fact that the customer base in this sector is very narrow. Moreover, the highly involved customers in the branch lead to higher rates of return, compared to the fast-moving customer goods branch, for example.

New Trends in Innovation and Customer Relationship Management: A Challenge for Market Researchers

For decades, one of the key roles of market research has been to help companies forecast customer acceptance of innovation and of changes to the market mix (the 4 Ps). However, traditional market research is in danger of being left behind by new practices in Sales, Marketing and R & D. Reflecting an increasingly participative approach to customer relationships, these disciplines are moving towards customer involvement and co-creation of value rather than innovation mainly generated by head office and only then tested among customers (Roberts, Baker and Walker, 2005). Co-creation involves working participatively with customers to enhance the value customers get when buying and using goods and services. It enables firms to understand and respond to deeper and more valuable customer needs and reduces the inherent risks of innovation. Nor is this increasing trend towards co-creation limited to new product introduction. As companies invest in customer relationship management (CRM) programmes, they need to design new forms of relationships with those directly affected: their customers. As customers use internet-related technologies to manage their relationships with suppliers, co-creation will become a more important component of innovation and growth strategies. In this context, traditional market research approaches begin to look outdated. The authors illustrate how Action Research can provide tools and methods by which market researchers can assist and improve the co-creation process with a case study of a dot.com company. The implications for market researchers and research practices are identified.

Handset-based measurement of smartphone service evolution in Finland

This paper carried out an extensive empirical study on mobile service usage in Finland. A newly developed handset-based mobile service research platform was utilised with automatic data mining procedures. The approach provided a scalable and novel market research approach. A typical Finnish panelist spends a daily average of 33 min with a smartphone. Most of this time is allocated on voice calls (33 per cent) and messaging (24 per cent), the overall communication usage representing 60 per cent of all usage time. Younger people and men are still the most active users of smartphones. The Finnish market has developed particularly in the use of packet data and person-to-person services. Handset bundling has indirectly driven usage because more data, voice and SMS packet plans are available. Handset bundling is also reflected in the increased use of operator-specific clients. ABPU (average billing per user) levels correlate with data, voice and SMS service usage, whereas no clear correlation between ABPU and (free) offline service usage exists. People still consider the pricing and technical implementation of the mobile WWW and email as bottlenecks for wider mobile internet usage. WLAN traffic already represents a significant share of aggregated traffic volume, although the number of WLAN-capable phones in the panel is small. Mobile data volume is evolving gradually towards multimedia and infotainment from mere static content and communication. Three distinctive end-user segments were identified when demonstrating usage-based clustering of users. The handset-based research approach has many advantages to alternative market research tools.

Neuromarketing: a layman's look at neuroscience and its potential application to marketing practice

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to briefly cover the origins of neuromarketing, explain the process in layman's terms, enumerate some of the findings in anecdotal form, and suggest future consumer behavior research directions based on these findings.Design/methodology/approachThe discussion of neuromarketing in this paper is based on reports of both a theoretical and applied nature. Their contents have been synthesized and placed into context by showing how they relate to traditional marketing research approaches and assumptions.FindingsWhile there are no concrete findings, preliminary assessments suggest that traditional, inferential assumptions about consumer behavior might be less powerful and explanatory than once believed. Combining neural activity images with conventional tools may produce more effective marketing practices.Research limitations/implicationsBecause this is an emerging field and still controversial, some of the key information is proprietary and/or fairly presumptive at this time. Cautions and criticisms have been included to counterbalance that point.Practical implicationsUnderstanding what is happening in this emerging field of inquiry is essential for anyone who believes that marketers can change the probability of a favorable response from consumers. The use of neuromarketing, if proven through use, has the capability of fundamentally changing how we design, promote, price, and package our products.Originality/valueThe marriage of cognitive neuroscience and marketing practice is a new field of inquiry. This paper provides a useful, non‐technical introduction.

Evidence-Based Marketing for Academic Librarians

Objective - In developing marketing strategies for the Business &amp; Economics Library (BEL) at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign (UIUC), a survey was designed to answer the following questions:&#x0D; &#x0D; • Should BEL develop marketing strategies differently for East Asian business students?&#x0D; • What services do graduate business students want to receive from BEL?&#x0D; • With whom should BEL partner to increase visibility at the College of &#x0D; Business? &#x0D; &#x0D; Marketing research techniques were used to gather evidence upon which BEL could construct appropriate marketing strategies.&#x0D; &#x0D; Methods - A questionnaire was used with graduate business students enrolled at UIUC. The survey consisted of four categories of questions: 1) demographics, 2) assessment of current library services, 3) desired library services, and 4) research behavior. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and hypothesis testing to answer the three research questions.&#x0D; &#x0D; Results - East Asian business students showed similar assessment of current services as non-East Asian international business students. Survey results also showed that graduate business students had low awareness of current library services. The Business Career Services Office was identified as a co-branding partner for BEL to increase its visibility.&#x0D; &#x0D; Conclusion - A marketing research approach was used to help BEL make important strategic decisions before launching marketing campaigns to increase visibility to graduate business students at UIUC. As a result of the survey, a deeper understanding of graduate business students’ expectations and assessment of library services was gained. Students’ perceptions became a foundation that helped shape marketing strategies for BEL to increase its visibility at the College of Business. Creating marketing strategies without concrete data and analysis is a risky endeavor that librarians, not just corporate marketers, should avoid.

Impact of structured product definition on market success

Siemens recently launched a new product, the MAGNETOM Avanto, onto the market. The initial customer reaction was tremendous. The product definition followed a structured process and state‐of‐the‐art tools like quality function deployment (QFD) and conjoint analysis were applied. This paper analyses the impact of all these efforts in product definition on market success. It retrospectively summarizes the benefits from various tools and methods. The medical equipment market, its mechanisms and special features are introduced in a case study of magnetic resonance imaging equipment developed at Siemens Medical Solutions. The decision‐making or purchasing process in this market is very complex. Therefore dedicated market research approaches using a variety of different methods were required. Focus groups, conjoint analysis, broadband surveys and face‐to‐face interviews were all useful. In addition, an astute segmentation of the individual groups that influence a purchasing decision had to be made. From all these market research activities a company normally ends up with an immense amount of contradicting requirements. The article shows how these requirements were converted into a clear system specification and new technological solutions. The Siemens MAGNETOM Avanto has been very successful in the market. Customer reaction and feedback indicates that the product has many unique selling points, best performance in many aspects, and no major weaknesses. Siemens believes that this is due to the very systematic and comprehensive approach of the product definition.

Student volunteers: why hospitals must invest in their futures

As the current volunteer work force ages, hospitals are faced with the challenge of evolving their student volunteers into active adult volunteers. Engaged student volunteers may be nurtured by the hospital to become future employees, links to the community or potential donors. Currently, retention rates among student volunteers indicate that once the majority of students begin post secondary education, they discontinue their association with the hospital. Using a scientific marketing research approach, this paper addresses three questions aimed at producing a model to increase long‐term retention among student volunteers. Why do seemingly committed volunteers discontinue their association with the hospital? How does the hospital develop a system that allows and encourages students to maintain contact with the hospital? How can a hospital integrate a virtual volunteering model into its traditional volunteering model? The conclusions lead the reader to reassess the way they view student volunteers and strongly encourage the reader to view the students not just as volunteers, but also as long‐term potential active members of the hospital community.

National Nutrition Summit, May 30, 2000: Results of the Obesity Discussion Groups

National Nutrition Summit, May 30, 2000: Results of the Obesity Discussion Groups

A New Look for Theological Alumni Studies

ABSTRACT Alumni studies among Protestant theological seminaries are not commonplace. This article reports on an alumni study completed in 1996. It differs from other studies in that it incorporates the use of a new state-of-the-art marketing research approach that focuses on soliciting alumni suggestions for improvement (Waddell, Summer 1995), rather than on traditional rankings ranging from very satisfied through very dissatisfied. Through the study, the institution involved was able to determine: A reasonably good overall satisfaction level with the school, some intense concerns with one of the denominations it serves and suggestions for improvement. A very high level of satisfaction from its graduates with a ministerial career and their plans to remain in church related occupations. A need to improve its curriculum by adding more study of day-today management issues facing ministers. Areas in which the school's educational and spiritual environments needed improvement. The unique importance of faculty ...