Sources Of Market Information Research Articles

Timber Market Information on Leyte Island, the Philippines

Information is essential in making marketing decisions. This paper presents an assessment of information concerning the timber market in Leyte Island, focusing on sources, how to access supply and demand information, and usefulness and limitations of available information. The sources of timber market information include (i) Philippine Forestry Statistics, (ii) a database of registered tree plantations, (iii) a barangay-based inventory of trees on farms, and (iv) tree measurements and data collected in the timber enterprise survey conducted by the ACIAR Tree Farm Project. Based on available secondary data, there are 27,635 ha of forest in Leyte that is potentially harvestable. In addition, based on the findings of the barangay-based tree farm inventory, there are approximately 2.7 M trees on tree farms on Leyte Island. Timber demand by entrepreneurs on Leyte Island has not been calculated yet from the available survey data of the ACIAR Tree Farmer Project; however, estimates show that the annual per capita timber consumption of the Philippines for 2005 was 7.8 board feet. It was found that although some secondary data on timber market information are available from government agencies, particularly the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, consumer and producer-level data are scarce. Most of the producer and consumer-level data available to date were gathered through the ACIAR Tree Farm Project.

The impact of Porter's strategy types on the role of market research and customer relationship management

PurposeThis paper seeks to investigate the influence of Porter's strategy types on the use of customer relationship management (CRM) techniques and traditional market research, against theoretical and empirical evidence that differences in strategy types may result in variation in favoured marketing information sources and procedures.Design/methodology/approachDepth interviews generated a series of scale items, which were combined with others derived from the literature in a questionnaire measuring strategy types, the roles of market research, and the characteristics of CRM systems. Responses were obtained from 240 senior marketing managers in Australia, and applied to the testing of five research propositions.FindingsANOVA found no differences in CRM usage among the strategy types. Variation was widespread, however, in four roles of traditional market research: enhancing strategic decision making, increasing usability of existing data, presenting plans to senior management, and achieving productivity and political outcomes.Research limitations/implicationsFuture researchers using the Porter strategic types should separate “marketing differentiators” from “product differentiators” because they function and compete differently.Practical implicationsAll organisations can benefit from CRM systems, but “marketing differentiators” exhibit a relatively higher usage of traditional market research. This is likely to be because they compete by creating softer product differences, while others do so on harder characteristics such as price or product functionality.Originality/valueThis is the first study to use the Porter types to explain differences between the roles and uses of market research and CRM within organisations.

Integrating Marketing Intelligence Sources -Reconsidering the Role of the Salesforce

Research has identified that after 40 years of discussion the use of the salesforce as a source of market information is relatively widespread in business-to-business organisations, but that the majority of organisations do not always gather, store or disseminate this information effectively. The research highlights that the salesforce should be set clear objectives and incentives and, most importantly, be included in the dissemination of market intelligence for the organisation to gain maximum benefit. Unless sales personnel are able to understand how their information contributes to the organisation's activities and feel that their participation is valued, they will be unable to provide timely and pertinent information to the organisation. Further, the research suggests that organisations that do not effectively disseminate market information across functional boundaries may be ignoring a potential source of competitive advantage. This paper provides a review of the current situation, a literature review, a discussion of management implications and suggestions for further research.

Chip packaging challenges … a roadmap based overview

PurposeTo provide an insight and view of the expected directions for microelectronic packaging, at chip level, that ties in current developments to the needs envisaged by emerging technology roadmaps.Design/methodology/approachThe requirements for packaging semiconductor devices have become a new technology driver for the electronics “Final Manufacturing” industry. In line with forecasts and roadmaps, the expected multitude of options are being developed in order to meet the demand of an industry which requires ever more complex devices which exhibit both higher reliability and lower cost.FindingsAs application potentials develop, so package cost becomes the driver. In turn, low cost package solutions are becoming the drivers for new technologies such as “last‐mile” fibre optic Telecom systems, 3G phones, bluetooth and sensors. MEMS devices are a key example of how applications are pushing the technologies to create cost effective packaging.Research limitations/implicationsThe emerging packaging technologies, currently BGA's and chip size packaging's (CSP), continue to develop to meet the needs of electronic devices, driven by the “smaller, faster, cheaper” paradigm. However the final manufacturing and testing aspects of such needs are often overlooked and as such the test industry faces a number of severe challenges in terms of handling these new package technologies.Practical implicationsBy looking at the market trends and how these new technologies are developing, especially with respect to emerging developments in CSP, flip chip and wafer level packaging, solutions for many of the challenges posed can be determined.Originality/valueThis paper provides a market analysis of the trends and directions of the chip packaging industry. It has taken data from a wide number of sources of market information and compared the expectations of each to actual emerging applications. The resulting information is expected to become a benchmark for this aspect of the semiconductor manufacturing industry.

International marketing information

Studies have shown that lack of information can provide an obstacle in firms’ endeavour to be competitive in overseas markets [1]. This study provides empirical data that examines how managers of internationalizing UK firms perceive the usefulness of overseas market information sources, their level of utilization, plus perceptions of the types of data required. Findings are primarily based on a postal survey of 446 firms. Also reported are selected findings from 20 in-depth interviews. Results establish that a high percentage of firms actively utilize internal staff, agents, social contacts and the Internet in comparison with other data sources in finding various types of information. Furthermore, the interviews found that firms’ own websites provide reference points for other businesses and this has resulted in many enquiries and orders for a relatively large percentage of firms.

Market-information systems for the up-country vegetable farmers and marketers in Sri Lanka

A well-developed market-information system helps the farmers to plan their own production system, to harvest at the most profitable time, to decide on which market they should send the produce and negotiate on a more even footing with traders. The objective of this study was to find out about the market-information system for the up-country vegetable growers and the marketers (wholesalers and retailers) in Sri Lanka and its effect on the marketing process. The main market-information source for vegetable farmers was the wholesaler followed by local collectors and neighbouring farmers. The majority of them had already obtained price information from their respective information sources. But there was a lack of information concerning quantity and quality required and of the existing markets. There are positive relationships between the farm-gate price and wholesale price information received, information on quantity required, information on the required quality and information on the existing markets. The main marketing-information sources of both wholesalers and retailers were interpersonal informal sources such as other wholesalers, retailers, brokers, market-place owners, et cetera. They was less exposure to mass-media sources such as radio, television and newspapers.

Twenty Years of Price Reporting to NIPF Owners: A Progress Report

Abstract A 2000 survey of stumpage price reporting services was compared with surveys conducted in 1980 and 1990 to determine whether the information provided to nonindustrial private forestland owners had improved. Slightly fewer states issue reports today than in 1990, but private reports are now available for Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. The quality of most reports has changed little since 1990. Although market reporting can help landowners make intelligent management decisions, most NIPF owners do not participate in timber markets, and few who do participate engage professional foresters–a source of market information. The most pressing need in the market reporting system is transferring the information to the millions of landowners. The Internet is becoming a vehicle, but more outreach to NIPF owners is needed.

Casualwear shopping behaviour of college men in Georgia, USA

The expanding nature of the men’s casual apparel market represents a considerable economic growth area in the apparel industry. Of particular interest is the demand for casual clothing by college‐age men. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influences of casualwear involvement (high, medium, low) on the purchasing behaviour of male students in relation to their shopping dimensions, personal characteristics, buying behaviour, shopping attributes and information sources. Data were collected using a questionnaire delivered by e‐mail to a systematically selected sample, with 176 male college students responding from 18 colleges in Georgia, USA. The results revealed that there were unique shopping patterns which differ according to casualwear involvement, indicating a deep interest in casualwear and appearance. Most male students had a medium to high casualwear involvement sum score; however, as age increased this score decreased. Both the personal and the market information sources indicated that customers with high involvement were more experienced than either the low or medium involvement groups. The medium involvement casualwear group was composed of consumers who were likely to make purchases during the sale season. The low involvement cohort was moderate casualwear buyers in terms of volume and purchased expensive casualwear. This study shows that classifying male college students by involvement can be helpful in marketing to this group. Apparel marketers are well advised to focus on this neglected cohort of male casualwear consumers.

Analyst Forecasts and the Rationality of Information Flows: Evidence from the Bloomberg G-7 Country Surveys

Market participants expend considerable resources on analyst services to improve their decision-making processes. One of the more widely used sources of market information is that of Bloomberg, which derives market expectations from reputed experts on macroeconomic forecasts across several countries. Previous work that has studied the performance of macroeconomic survey forecasts has focused primarily on the United States. This study is the first that we are aware of that investigates survey forecasts outside the U.S.A. This study aims to test the rationality of Bloomberg's surveyed experts' median opinions for major macroeconomic announcements in the U.S.A., Japan, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France and Italy. While most non-U.S. forecasts appear consistent with rationality, the evidence for the U.S. is somewhat mixed for the entire sample period. However over the latter part of the sample, forecast accuracy for the U.S. analysts appears to have improved significantly and compares favorably with forecasts produced by the Bloomberg analysts for the other G7 countries.

Successful internationalizing UK firms’ information gathering activities

This study provides empirical data concerning managers of ‘successful’ internationalizing UK firms’ perceived usefulness and their utilization of sources of overseas market information together with types of data required. Findings are primarily based on a postal survey of winners of the Queen’s Award for Export Achievement - arguably the premier award within the UK involving firms’ performance in overseas markets. Also reported are selected findings from a series of in-depth interviews. Analysis is employed to establish that few statistical differences exist between two groups of firms, namely those only involved in exporting and others involved in multiple forms of market entry strategies. Despite the limited statistical differences observed, the findings do, however, indicate that the two groups of firms have different practices that have implications for information providers.

Conversion subsidies for organic production: results from Sweden and lessons for the United States

AbstractOrganic conversion subsidies used in Europe are less likely to be politically acceptable in the United States, where organic agriculture development is market‐driven. Persistent barriers to conversion in the United States include limited availability of and access to production and market information, training in management systems and cost of conversion‐related investments. By determining whether these factors affect the requirement of a subsidy to convert, we can suggest whether U.S. policy makers need to provide subsidies to encourage conversion and identify policy variables consistent with market‐based approaches that could stimulate conversion. A utility difference model is used with Swedish data to analyze factors that determine whether a subsidy is required to motivate organic conversion. The results show that farmers requiring subsidies manage larger less‐diversified farms and are more concerned with organic inspection, quality, and adequacy of technical advice. Access to more market outlets and information sources substitutes for payment level in the farmer's utility function, indicating that services rather than subsidies may be used to encourage organic agriculture. To the extent that conditions are similar in the U.S. organic sector, market‐based programs such as cost‐sharing for conversion and market access improvement should stimulate growth of this industry.

The Medium Vanishes?

The Medium Vanishes?

U.S. Government Electronic Data Sources for Global Marketing Decisions

The amount of information available to business people interested in global marketing opportunities is overwhelming. The United States government publishes a vast amount of information, a great deal of which is available electronically on the Internet and CD-ROMs. This paper evaluates the usefulness of four of the government's most important electronic sources of global marketing information. It will serve to guide students as future marketers and faculty members as to what is the most appropriate and likely source according to their specific information needs. The paper also describes a workshop using these sources which can be incorporated into a marketing course.

Localization and the Use of Information Sources

Business scholars have long emphasized the need for a continuous flow of strategic, tactical and operational information in order for decision makers to make informed organizational choices. However, much of the practical and theoretical work on ‘organizational learning’ and ‘environmental scanning’ has been aspatial and focused on the large corporation. Researchers of small business dynamics and entrepreneurship have measured firms’ use of information sources, but this work also remains largely aspatial. Geographers have only begun to scratch the surface of the relationships between forms of industrial spatial organization and the use of specific information sources at a firm level. Coupling these various perspectives, I investigate the use and qualitative assessment of information sources by establishments in a highly localized industry (carpets in northern Georgia) and make some comparisons with several other industries in other regions (plastics and textile producers). Analysis is based upon responses to a mail survey soliciting information from (mainly small) firms regarding their use of 15 common sources of market and technical information. I contextualize the use of information sources in the carpet industry by reviewing important industry trends and circumstances as well as the industry’s spatial organization. The results indicate that firms in the carpet industry, perhaps the most agglomerated industry in the United States, report relatively low overall use and availability of common sources of information compared with firms in other industries and regions. Organizational attributes, such as size and affiliation, may have stronger relationships to the sources of information that firms typically use than local context.

Labor Market Information and Selection in a Local Restaurant Industry: The Tenuous Balance Between Rewards, Commitments, and Costs

The restaurant industry is characterized as having high turnover, skill homogeneity, and distrust of standard sources of labor market information. We examine how in this context employers seek and evaluate information on potential job candidates (extensive search) and the hiring criteria they use to select new employees (intensive search). We find that employers in the restaurant sector are often passive or reactive about recruitment, distrust standard sources of information, and reject the use of educational credentials and work experience as hiring criteria. They do, however, find ways to signal workplace information to potential job candidates, develop schemes to gather reliable information, and closely evaluate job history data when hiring. Some develop signaling strategies to alert potential employees that their stores are sufficiently different from apparently similar stores to make them unusually attractive places to work. To help secure a sufficiently motivated work force, managers eschew standard measures of potential productive capacity or skills and adopt instead indicators of a modicum of employee motivation. Even under conditions of high turnover, skill homogeneity, and distrusted information, employers find ways to secure effort and commitment from potentially recalcitrant employees.

How to find chemical information: a guide for practicing chemists, educators, and students

Basic Concepts. Information Flow and Communication Patterns in Chemistry. Search Strategy. Keeping Up to Date: Current Awareness Programs. How to Get Access to Articles, Patents, Translations, Specifications, and Other Documents Quickly and Efficiently. Chemical Abstracts Service: History and Development. Essentials of Chemical Abstracts Use. Selected Other Abstracting and Indexing Services of Interest to Chemists. Some United States Government Technical Information Centers and Sources. Online Systems and Databases, the Internet, CD--ROMs, and Related Topics. Reviews. Encyclopedias and Other Major References Books Journals. Patent Documents (with a Brief Section on Trademarks). Environment, Safety, and Related Topics. Locating and Using Physical Property and Related Data. Chemical Marketing and Business Information Sources. Process Information. Analytical Chemistry: A Brief Review of Some of the Literature Sources. Appendices. Index.

World Directory of Marketing Information Sources 2nd Edition

World Directory of Marketing Information Sources 2nd Edition

THE BATAT MARKETING DRIVE: IMPROVING MARKET ACCESS FOR SMALL SCALE FARMERS / THE BATAT BEMARKINGSVELDTOG: VERBETERING VAN MARKTOEGANG VIR KLEINSKAALSE BOERE

The BATAT Marketing Drive aims to improve the market access of small scale farmers; in previously disadvantaged communities. The importance of marketing in rural development cannot be overemphasised. It is the profit incentive which encourages farmers to produce commercially. An overview of the present production and marketing activities of small scale farmers was obtained and the marketing constraints experienced by small scale farmers were identified. Constraints include a lack of transport services, a lack of road infrastructure, communication infrastructure and storage facilities. Farmers also need training and a regular source of market information. Provincial Departments of Agriculture can play a role in providing this information and training. Infrastructure, however, is a function of other government departments and in some cases private companies. The establishment of rural processing facilities should be encouraged. Farmers can also seize some marketing opportunities by working together in their production and marketing activities.

Architectural redesign, interpersonal communication, and learning in R&D

An effective R&D organization needs information from a complex web of sources, including customers, suppliers, sales and marketing, and company management. Within the R&D organization, information must flow into and among numerous teams. This network of interpersonal communications can go a long way toward determining the success of a company's innovation efforts. In an exploratory study of a Belgian company operating in the telecommunications industry, Rudy K. Moenaert and Filip Caeldries examine the effects of interpersonal communication on market and technological learning in R&D. Trying to improve the flow of information into and within its R&D organization, this company designed its new R&D facility with an eye toward improving both market and technological learning throughout the organization. By locating R&D personnel in closer proximity to one another, management hoped to provide them with improved access to market and technological information, and thus increase their innovativeness. Contrary to expectations, placing R&D professionals in closer proximity to one another did not increase technological learning in this organization. In fact, technological learning actually decreased slightly during the period studied, though the change is not statistically significant. On the other hand, market learning and product innovativeness improved significantly during the period studied. For an R&D professional in this company, members of other R&D teams seem to be more important as sources of market information than as sources of technological information. Surprisingly, the relocation of R&D personnel also did not increase the amount of communication that takes place, either within a project team, between members of different teams, or between R&D professionals and the management steering committee. However, the architectural redesign does appear to have improved the quality of communication. R&D team leaders report that since the relocation, the information flowing into R&D has been more customer focused. This is attributed to the company's ongoing efforts to provide the tools and structures necessary for supporting the objectives of the architectural redesign. For example, implementation of quality function deployment (QFD) has helped innovation team members to focus more clearly on relevant information. The success of the architectural design required approaching this effort as a complex, ongoing process, rather than a quick-fix solution.

Architectural Redesign, Interpersonal Communication, and Learning in R&D

An effective R&D organization needs information from a complex web of sources, including customers, suppliers, sales and marketing, and company management. Within the R&D organization, information must flow into and among numerous teams. This network of interpersonal communications can go a long way toward determining the success of a company's innovation efforts.In an exploratory study of a Belgian company operating in the telecommunications industry, Rudy K. Moenaert and Filip Caeldries examine the effects of interpersonal communication on market and technological learning in R&D. Trying to improve the flow of information into and within its R&D organization, this company designed its new R&D facility with an eye toward improving both market and technological learning throughout the organization. By locating R&D personnel in closer proximity to one another, management hoped to provide them with improved access to market and technological information, and thus increase their innovativeness.Contrary to expectations, placing R&D professionals in closer proximity to one another did not increase technological learning in this organization. In fact, technological learning actually decreased slightly during the period studied, though the change is not statistically significant. On the other hand, market learning and product innovativeness improved significantly during the period studied. For an R&D professional in this company, members of other R&D teams seem to be more important as sources of market information than as sources of technological information.Surprisingly, the relocation of R&D personnel also did not increase the amount of communication that takes place, either within a project team, between members of different teams, or between R&D professionals and the management steering committee. However, the architectural redesign does appear to have improved the quality of communication. R&D team leaders report that since the relocation, the information flowing into R&D has been more customer focused. This is attributed to the company's ongoing efforts to provide the tools and structures necessary for supporting the objectives of the architectural redesign. For example, implementation of quality function deployment (QFD) has helped innovation team members to focus more clearly on relevant information. The success of the architectural design required approaching this effort as a complex, ongoing process, rather than a quick‐fix solution.