EMAC Chronicle - November 2003

  1. News for / from Members & Institutions

    1. Aston Business School - New Staff Members 

      The Marketing Group within Aston Business School welcomes two new members of academic staff for the year 2003/4: Dr Mark Palmer and Dr Alex Nicholls.

      Dr Palmer joined the Group in July with research interests in the broad area of retailer internationalisation. His ongoing work explores the internationalisation process of large, multinational, retail companies and the involvement of investment banks in this process. Much of his research has been funded by Sainsbury’s plc and the George Spencer Fellowship Trust, in conjunction with the British Shops and Stores Association (BSSA). Prior to moving to Aston Business School, Dr Palmer was employed as a Research Analyst at a small Cambridgeshire-based company in the software industry for a number of years. He was awarded his PhD from the Queen’s University, Belfast.

      Dr Nicholls joined the Group in September from the University of Surrey. Prior to this he worked at Leeds Metropolitan University. Dr Nicholls’s research centres on marketing and business ethics, retailing, and children as consumers. He has a particular interest in Fair Trade and is currently writing a book on the subject for Sage (due 2004). Dr Nicholls has published in a range of journals, including the Service Industries Journal and the International Journal of Retail and Distribution Management. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Marketing Science and has spoken at a range of international, refereed, conferences. He was awarded his PhD from King’s College, London, and his MBA from the Said Business School, University of Oxford.

    2. ISMS Practice Prize 2003 

      German Catalog Retailer RHENANIA wins inaugural INFORMS SOCIETY ON MARKETING SCIENCE Practice Prize Competition

      DVDs of Presentations Now Available

      by Gary L. Lilien, EMAC US Representative

      The inaugural INFORMS Marketing Society Practice Prize competition crowned a winner at the 25th Marketing Science Conference at the Robert H. Smith School of Business in College Park, Maryland.   The competition was a rigorous one.  There were 31 high quality entries, each of which described both the work itself and the impact that work has had on the client organization.

      It was satisfying, in this inaugural competition, to have the three finalists represent three continents!  And the winning entry represented the paper’s first author’s PhD dissertation research.  He completed that work and implemented it at the client organization, highlighting the mix of theory and practice that is central to much of the best work of our profession.

      The winning entry, entitled “Optimizing Rhenania’s Direct Marketing Business through Dynamic Multi-Level Modeling (DMLM) in a Multi-Catalog-Brand Environment,” was written and presented by Ralf Elsner, Vice President of Marketing for Rhenania, Manfred Krafft of the University of Muenster and Arnd Huchzermeier of the WHU Otto-Beisheim Graduate School of Management.   Mr. Frederik Palm, the firm’s CEO, flew from Germany to Maryland to participate in the competition and receive the award alongside the winning team.

      Rhenania, a German direct mail order company, used the model to answer the most important direct marketing questions: when, how often, and to which people in the customer base should the company mail.  The uniqueness of their approach is first, that it dynamically evaluates customers evaluated based on their past purchase history; and second, that it derives a threshold level of sales per customer needed to maximize profits in mailing campaigns over time and across multiple customer segments.   The approach was so effective that in a relatively short period of time after introducing the model, Rhenania acquired two of its major competitors, including a subdivision of the Springer Publishing Company that dwarfed it in size

      The new ISMS Practice Prize is awarded for outstanding implementation of marketing science concepts and methods. The methodology must be sound and appropriate to the problem and organization. The work should have a significant, verifiable, and quantitative impact on the performance of the client organization. (Note that any work completed in recent years is eligible; prior publication of the work does not disqualify it.) 

      From amongst the 31 entries, the judging panel, comprised of Ed Brody, Abbie Griffin,  Arvind Rangaswamy Jorge Silva-Risso, Joel Steckel, Steve Shugan with Gary Lilien serving as Chair, selected three finalists who made outstanding oral presentations of their work at the Conference in Maryland.

      The two other finalists were:

      • " Defending Market Share Against a New Entrant"  by John H. Roberts, Charles J. Nelson, and Pamela D. Morrison whose client organization was the Australian telephone company Telstra and
      • “Will It Ever Fly? Modeling the Takeoff of Really New Consumer Durables" by Joseph A. Foster, Peter N. Golder and Gerald J. Tellis whose client organization was Whirlpool.

      The presentations were professionally videotaped and have been edited especially for classroom use.    These DVD versions of the presentations are in “chapter” format, enabling rapid and easy selection of the aspects of the presentations that instructors wish to highlight.   The DVD also includes the powerpoint presentations that the finalists used.
       
      For details on how to obtain copies of these outstanding presentations see http://www.informs.org/Edu/MarketingScience

      In addition, papers and reports on these outstanding implementations of marketing science will be appearing in a forthcoming issue of Marketing Science.  

      The Practice Prize Competition will be held again in 2004 at the Marketing Science meeting in Rotterdam June 24-27.   Look for a forthcoming announcement or contact Gary Lilien at GLilien@psu.edu for submission details.

       

       

    3. Birmingham Business School - New Staff 

      On September 1 2003, the Marketing Group at the Birmingham Business School have been joined by Dr Helen White from Cranfield. Stan Paliwoda steps down as Marketing Group Leader and as Head of Department effective July 31 when he takes study leave until January 1st. Dr Chris Hackley is to be our Marketing Subject Group Head.

    4. Aston Business School - New Appointment 

      Graham Hooley, Professor of Marketing at Aston Business School and President-elect of EMAC, has been appointed Senior Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Aston University. The post is equivalent to Vice Principal or Deputy Vice-Chancellor in other countries.

      Graham said: "After working for over 10 years in the Business School, I was pleased and honoured to be asked to work with the Vice Chancellor in developing and implementing the strategy for the university as a whole over the next few years. It has clearly been recognised that marketing can play a major role as a driver of change in organisations - even universities. It's going to be a fun few years putting into practice all that I have been preaching in MBA lectures for the last decade!".

    5. University of Vienna - New Appointment 

      Adamantios (Diamantis) Diamantopoulos, currently Professor of Marketing and Business Research at Loughborough University, England, has been appointed Professor of International Marketing at the Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Vienna, Austria.

      Diamantis will be taking up his new post in February 2004 and looks forward to joining his old friend and colleague, Bodo Schlegelmilch, in the beautiful city of Vienna (Bodo already holds a similar position at the "competition", i.e. the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration). Upon hearing the news, Bodo commented: Vienna will never be the same again!.

    6. University of Valencia - Creation of Marketing Department 

      La Universitat de Valencia, Spain, which is over 500 years old and thus one of the oldest European universities, has created a Department of Marketing. Its 34 staff members, 18 full time and 16 part time, carry out intense teaching and research activity. It offers an undergraduate degree, a Master's degree and a Doctoral Program in Marketing and its research orientation is one of the most dynamic in the Spanish arena. Its members actively contribute papers to refereed journals and conferences such as EMAC. It hosted the 2002 Multicultural Marketing Conference of the AMS. Enrique Bigne (Enrique.bigne@uv.es) is the Head of Department.

  2. Events & Calls for Papers

    1. Call for Papers - 2nd South African Work Wellness Conference 

      2nd SOUTH AFRICAN WORK WELLNESS CONFERENCE

      Deadline for submission of abstracts: 15 January 2004
      Deadline for the submission of full papers: 10 March 2004

      The research programme "Human Resource Management for Development" in the Research Unit "Decision-making and Management for Economic Development" at the Potchefstroom University is pleased to announce that it will be hosting the 2nd South African Work Wellness Conference on 25-26 March 2004 in Potchefstroom, South Africa.

      The aim of the conference is to investigate individual, group and organisational factors that contribute to work wellness in a multicultural context in South Africa and to report on interventions that could be used to ensure wellness at work. Although the focus of the conference will be on occupational stress, burnout and engagement, other presentations related to work wellness are also welcomed.

      We invite you to participate in this important event. The conference has been designed to provide opportunities for discussion, debate and the promotion of knowledge and skills in this area.

      Conference Objectives

      The conference is aimed at providing a forum for academics and practitioners in order to:

      • Keep abreast of the latest international developments regarding work wellness (specifically relating to occupational stress, burnout and work engagement)
      • Learn more about ways to assess occupational stress, burnout and work engagement
      • Identify research agendas regarding the management of occupational stress, burnout and work engagement
      • Network with other researchers on work wellness.

      Keynote Speakers

      • Prof. Wilmar Schaufeli, Professor of Organisational and Clinical Psychology, Utrecht University, The Netherlands, expert on burnout and work engagement
      • Prof. Michiel Kompier, Professor of Work and Organizational Psychology, University of Nijmegen, The Netherlands, expert on work wellness interventions
      • Prof. René Schalk, Professor of Organizational Studies, Tilburg University, The Netherlands, expert of psychological contracts and work wellness
      • Prof. Hans de Witte, Professor of Organisational Psychology, Louvain University, Belgium, expert on job insecurity and stress
      • Dr. Michelle Tytherleigh, Research Fellow, Occupational Stress Research Group, Plymouth University, United Kingdom, expert on occupational stress
      • Prof. Ian Rothmann, Professor of Industrial Psychology and Leader of the Research Programme "Work Wellness" at Potchefstroom University for CHE

      The conference venue

      The conference takes place on the picturesque campus of the Potchefstroom University in Potchefstroom, South Africa.

      Workshops

      The following three workshops will be presented prior to the conference:

      • Intervention Research. In the past, a considerable amount of research has been performed to identify important factors in health behaviour. Only recently, researchers have begun to translate these insights into prevention and intervention programmes. One of the challenges in this area has been to design interventions in such a way that they are theoretically valid and practically relevant. This workshop aim to address the most important issues related to the development and evaluation of interventions. It is directed at psychologists and researchers involved in planning and implementing work wellness interventions.
      • Managing stress, burnout and engagement. The aim of this workshop is to increase participants’ knowledge of stress, burnout and engagement, to make them aware of causal factors of burnout and engagement, and to help them identify and plan interventions to manage burnout and engagement in organisations. The workshop is directed at employees, managers and employee assistance staff.
      • Job insecurity and labour relations. The aim of this workshop is to identify and analyse the relationships between job insecurity, the psychological contract, work wellness and labour relations. The workshop focuses on the reasons for job insecurity, interventions to manage job insecurity, the dynamics of the psychological contract, as well as its influence on the employment relationship and on work wellness. The workshop is aimed at human resource practitioners, labour relations practitioners, union officials and managers in organisations.

      Key information

      Conference Office Address
      2nd Work Wellness Conference 2004
      School of Human Resource Sciences
      Potchefstroom University for CHE
      P/bag X6001
      Potchefstroom 2520
      Tel +27 (018) 2991397 / 2991369
      Email: workwellness@puk.ac.za

      The conference website is www.workwellness.co.za This will be regularly updated.
      Registration forms, abstract submission forms and full conference details are available on the website.

    2. Call for Papers - 3rd International Conference on Public and Non Profit Marketing 

      Call for Papers
      3rd International Conference on Public and Non Profit Marketing
      University of Beira Interior
      Covilhã, Portugal
      April 1-2, 2004

      We are pleased to draw your attention to the 3rd International Conference on Public and Non Profit Marketing, to be held in April 1-2
      at the University of Beira Interior, Covilhã, Portugal. Please note that these dates differ from the period of previous editions of the
      conference. In addition to invited presentations from practitioners, papers are invited from academics and doctoral students on any Public or Non Profit Marketing area topic.

      For further information about the 3rd International Conference on Public and Non Profit Marketing, please bookmark and visit the conference website:

      http://www.dge.ubi.pt/nece/JMP/)

      The submission deadline of full papers is February 15, 2004.

      Further submission guidelines and procedures are also posted on the website.

      The conference is promised to be a great event that will meet and even exceed the high standards set by previous editions.

      For further information or questions about the seminar, please contact the organization at halves@fenix.ubi.pt.

    3. Call for Papers - 4th CPTHL Symposium on Consumer Psychology of Tourism, Hospitality and Leisure Research Submitted by Dr. Go

      The Fourth CPTHL Symposium

      Call for Papers

      Consumer Psychology of Tourism, Hospitality, and Leisure Research


      Symposium Themes
      : Lived Experiences and Advancing Science in Lifestyle, Leisure, and Tourism
      Location / Dates: HEC Montreal, Canada / 17-20 July 2005
      Submission Deadline: (1) 2-page abstract, 15 January 2005; (2) 20-page paper, 15 April 2005

      Following the successful 1998 (Hilo), 2000 (Vienna), and 2003 (Melbourne) CPTHL Symposia and the publications of the symposia papers in Tourism Analysis and in three volumes in the CABI International Book Series on Tourism Studies, the Fourth CPTHL Symposium will be held at the École des HEC/ HEC School of Management. Please submit your paper in a WORD file attachment to one of the five members of the Fourth CPTHL Symposium Chairs:

      Psychology, Sociology, Geography, Management, Marketing, Tourism, Leisure Science, Hospitality,
      and Consumer Research Papers

      Invited Papers are sought that contribute to advancing theory, research methods, and useful practices regarding lived experiences and behavioral science topics focusing on lifestyle, leisure, and tourism. Following the mental model that individuals interpret who they are and what they seek in life but what they have done, the Fourth CPTHL Symposium focuses on understanding ourselves deeply by interpreting the conscious, and frequently unconscious, tradeoffs made among work, family, and leisure alternatives.

      In addition, the Fourth CPTHL Symposium desires to include original research reports on implemented strategies designed to influence lifestyle, leisure, and tourism behaviors; evaluation research reports of implemented destination marketing strategies; cross-cultural research on the impact of core values in lifestyle, leisure, and tourism decisions/behaviors; laboratory and field true/quasi experiments of impacts of alternative lifestyle, leisure, and tourism pursuits on individuals and household preferences; research on cognitive mapping of lived experiences in lifestyles, leisure, and tourism; consumer satisfaction and/or complaining behavior involving lifestyle, leisure, and tourism activities. For additional information on topics very suitable for paper submissions, please consult publications from prior CPTHL Symposia. For the table of contents of papers published from the previous symposia, for Volume 1 please go to:
      http://www.oup-usa.org/toc/tc_0851993222.html; and for Volume 2 please go to: http://www.oup-usa.org/toc/tc_0851995357.html.

      Deadlines: the organizing committee requests that you submit a two-page abstract by 15 January 2005 and/or a full paper (20-pages of text maximum with up to 10 additional pages of reference pages, exhibits, tables, figures, and appendices). Please double-space the abstract and the full page using 12-point Times New Roman and submit in WORD.


    4. Call for Papers - 4th International Colloquium on Nonprofit, Social and Arts Marketing Submitted by Dr R. Bennett

      Call for Papers

      4th INTERNATIONAL COLLOQUIUM ON
      NONPROFIT, SOCIAL AND ARTS MARKETING

      London Metropolitan University and Henley Management College are pleased to announce that their fourth joint research symposium will be held at London Metropolitan University on Wednesday 15th September 2004. The event has been designed to provide an interface between academics and reflective practitioners wanting to draw on the very latest in theoretical and empirical non-profit research. Papers are invited on any aspect of non-profit marketing. Both academic and practitioner papers are welcome and potential topics include, but are not limited to the following:

      • Fundraising
      • Arts Marketing
      • Social Marketing
      • Marketing of Healthcare Organisations
      • Advertising and Promotion for Non-profit Organisations
      • Branding and Positioning for Non-profit Organisations
      • Cause Related Marketing
      • Campaigning and Lobbying
      • Database Marketing
      • Retailing and Merchandising Operations for Non-profit Organisations
      • Corporate Philanthropy
      • Social Entrepreneurship

      Authors may submit either a full paper or an abstract of their intended paper. Abstracts of papers will be made available at the event but papers will not be published in formal conference proceedings. Authors of accepted papers will however be encouraged to revise their work, consequent to the feedback they receive at the Colloquium, for submission to a special issue of the International Journal of Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Marketing.

      All submissions should include a cover sheet that contains a contact name and address, title, institution affiliation, email address, phone number and fax number. Authors are requested to avoid revealing the identity of themselves or their affiliations in the body of the paper. All papers will undergo formal double blind review.

      Please send submissions to: Dr R. Bennett, Department of Business and Service Sector Management, London Metropolitan University, 84 Moorgate, London EC2M 6SQ. Email: r.bennett@londonmet.ac.uk.

      Closing date for submissions: 18th June 2004.

    5. Conference Announcement - 54th AIEST Congress 

      54th AIEST Congress

      Call for Papers
      The future of SME in Tourism


      19-24 September 2004
      Petra, Jordan

      Strategic questions

      In many tourism country destinations the dominant structure is that of small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs). They are prevalent for example in the hotel trade, travel agencies, tourism transport systems and the many tourism-related attractions. In contrary, in new
      destinations in emerging economies and developing countries that have strong tourism sectors the big corporations and chains are particularly well represented. Each of these sectors -- the big corporations and the chains that operate on an industrial scale on the one
      hand, and the smaller type of business on the other – has its own characteristic structural advantages and disadvantages.

      Small-to-medium sized enterprises are exceptionally flexible. They can adapt to the ups and downs of the market. They offer high quality personalised services. Thanks to competition at the level of the destination there is a wide variety of products. Moreover the proximity of local suppliers and their identification with the local culture gives the services offered by SMEs an unmistakeable mark of authenticity. Each of these sectors -- the big corporations and the chains that operate on an industrial scale on the one hand, and the smaller type of business on the other – has its own characteristic structural advantages and disadvantages.

      Due to the almost atomic structure of the small business sector in tourism it is increasingly difficult for companies to succeed in markets that are growing at an ever faster pace. And because of their small size these businesses often fall short of the level of productivity
      necessary for success in the highly competitive factor markets. Another typical problem of SMEs is their limited ability to invest in market research and the development of new product concepts. Their reliance on regular customers leads to considerable inertia. Such companies are also limited in their ability to innovate. The risks accepted by entrepreneurs is greater due to the extreme interdependency that exists in destinations. And the financing conditions are worse.

      At its 54th Congress in Jordan the AIEST will discuss ways in which small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) in the tourism sector can survive in fiercely competitive markets while contributing to the development of tourism in the different regions and countries. One of the questions we shall discuss is whether or not smallness of size is an insurmountable obstacle for economic success. We shall also look at ways of improving the productivity of small-tomedium tourism enterprises, and their ability to innovate. Another question -- how can the financing of investments be improved for such companies? And can tourism-related SMEs help to stimulate development in regions with economic problems? Finally, are state incentives necessary for the promotion of the small tourism business sector, and if so what form should they take?

      We shall endeavour at this Congress to discuss the future of SMEs in the field of tourism as thoroughly as possible. Priority will be given to the following themes mentioned.

      The future of SME structures in tourism

      The so-called “tourism industry“ in fact consists of an dazzling mixture of branches in which there are companies large and small, i.e. which produce on an industrial scale or at a much more modest personalised level. In this age of globalisation visitors from the countries of origin have created an international travel industry which makes use of local potential to achieve global strategies, while offering standardised products. A small business structure continues to dominate in the destinations of traditional tourism countries, offering products and services of the greatest possible variety. Tourism thus has a dual economic structure. Another question we need to ask is, what will the structure of the industry look like in the future.

      What are the strengths and weaknesses of the international travel industry? Is it the “benchmark“ for SMEs in the tourism sector? Is there a way of mixing together big corporations and small businesses so as to create sustainable development in this sector? How can SMEs improve the products and services they offer the tourist? Should emerging tourism countries give preference to the development of the small business sector?

      Co-operation as the way to overcome disadvantages of size for SMEs

      It is a fundamental truth that the market resists gigantism. Growth beyond the optimum size often leads to an implosion of the structures and to new fragmentation. Companies that grow too big can find themselves frustrated by disabilities at the operational level. They often lack the necessary flexibility. In many cases they have to be reorganised into small units. If properly planned, co-operation is one way SMEs can overcome the disadvantages that go with small size. This can be accomplished either by cooperation between small-to-medium enterprises or the break-up of big corporations into more functional units. Finding the right form of co-operation is one of the most important business decisions SMEs can make.

      Whatever the field of activity it is always worth considering the possibility of co-operation as a way of creating new opportunities.
      What is the most appropriate way of co-operating in terms of content, degree, and type of coordination on the basis of different scenarios? What factors determine the success of efforts to co-operate? How can the co-operation process be organised most effectively?

      Positioning SMEs in the market under the umbrella of the destination

      The classical approach to co-operation for small businesses in the tourism sector is vertical co-operation at the level of the destination. This requires partnership in the marketing of a multiplicity of products and services, backed by quality assurance. A concerted and well
      focused approach not only increases the destination’s market muscle but can also enhance its productivity. The effectiveness of the market approach will depend to a great extent on the organisation of co-operation in the areas of promotion, public relations work and marketing, at the level of the destination.
      What tasks in the area of communication and marketing should be handled by the SME itself? What tasks should be the responsibility of local and national tourism organisations?

      Increasing SME productivity with the help of information technology

      The management of co-operation has become more efficient thanks to the increasing use of information technology. Even the smallest company can make use of the information highway to be virtually present around the clock in markets all over the world. The bookability of products and services is no longer a problem at the technical level. Internet and the online services have restored some of their former market power to small-to-medium enterprises in tourism-related sectors and in the traditional destinations.
      The introduction of information technology can also make the “back office“ production of SMEs more efficient. Management and marketing tasks can be outsourced, allowing the companies to focus on the core business of providing personalised services to their clients. The networking of small tourism businesses, both on the supply and the demand side, in any case requires the development of management, information and reservation systems at the level of the destination. And these are costly. The ability to make optimal use of such systems is essential for tourism SMEs, and yet they often fail to do so due to lack of the necessary “know how”.

      What contribution do information and communication technologies make to the development of the small business sector? How can SMEs improve their capabilities in this area? What are the factors that determine success in the deployment of information and communication technologies?

      Investments and financing of SMEs

      The more capital-intensive these small companies are, the harder it is for them to finance their investments in installations and equipment. The small business sector of tourism, with its personalised services, must overcome not only the cost disease but also seasonal demand fluctuations and a great many exogenous factors of uncertainty. There is a fundamental problem at the level of revenues. Small businesses in the tourism sector are increasingly viewed by banks as being “high-risk and low-yield” ventures. The basic financing of investments is therefore hard to find and the cost of credit is in any case high. Raising capital in the stock market is far from easy. In the light of these difficulties it is increasingly important for SMEs to learn about business models and plans that would enable them to succeed in their efforts to obtain credit.

      Are there alternative financing instruments available to SMEs? What factors and instruments determine the success of financing?

      SME contributions to regional development

      Tourism is increasingly seen as an instrument for the creation of endogenous growth, and in particular for the solution of the problems faced by remote regions, neglected and abandoned city centres and industrial zones that no longer serve their original purpose. In
      this context the fundamental question for the small tourism businesses is what contribution can they make to the development of such problem areas. Here it is a question of using the resources, skills and networks available, and what kind of organisation should the countries which wish to promote tourism as a strategic sector of the economy develop.

      How can the concept of the learning region be developed? How can suitable clusters be created with SMEs in the regional economy?

      Labour market and training for SMEs

      Heavily influenced as it is by seasonal fluctuations in tourism demand, the labour market in tourism regions poses a major challenge to SMEs, with their reliance on personalised services. The size of staff must be adapted to the degree of utilisation of installations and
      equipment. This means a cost-oriented labour market policy is required, allowing for seasonal work, part-time employment and the use of foreign labour. The lack of possibilities for rationalisation and standardisation must be offset by the high quality of services, which means a considerable investment in human resources. Careful management of staff costs while at the same time ensuring the necessary quality is one of the big challenges facing small-to-medium enterprises.

      How can staff costs be adapted to tourism demand? How can intercultural human resource management be achieved at the level of the SME? How can entrepreneurship be encouraged and the launch of new small businesses?

      System of state incentives

      The process of globalisation has resulted in a tremendous extension of the market and a proliferation of destinations. The new destinations are distinguished by soft currencies and low wages. The international travel trade takes advantage of these favourable framework conditions. It benefits from the funds which the international community makes available to emerging destinations.
      In such conditions of imperfect competition the question that arises is whether or not there is need of a policy specifically aimed at small tourism businesses, and if so what form it should take. State-funded incentive systems are necessary to help create partnerships for the
      production and marketing of complete packages of products and services, since the cooperation this requires inevitably leads to high transaction costs.

      What economic policy motives justify state assistance for SMEs? What are the best instruments and in what conditions should they be used?

      Timetable

      The selection of papers is made in accordance with a double blind review process based on international standards. This involves the following steps for contributors:

      • Submission of an abstract of two pages max. by the end of December 2003 to the AIEST Secretariat aiest@unisg.ch
      • Decision on the basis of a double blind review process by 15 February 2004
      • Submission of full papers by the end of May 2004
      • Decision on the basis of a double blind review process as to which contributions are to be accepted for presentation at the plenary session.

      The papers to be presented at the plenary session of the conference will be published in the AIEST publication of the year 2004 “The future of the SME in tourism”. The remaining papers will be presented at workshops devoted to specific themes as well as on a CD Rom, and some cases will be published in the discussion forum section of the Tourism Review.

      Scientific Committee

      • Prof. Peter Keller, Ecole des HEC, University of Lausanne, President (Switzerland)
      • Prof. Norbert Vanhove, Collège de l’Europe/University of Antwerp, Vice-President (Belgium)
      • Prof. Richard Butler, University of Surrey (United Kingdom)
      • Dr. Abderrahim Daoudi, Ministry of Tourism (Morocco)
      • Prof. William Gartner, University of St. Paul, Minnesota (United States)
      • Prof. Harald Pechlaner, University of Eichstätt (Germany)
      • Dr. Heinz-Rico Scherrieb, Handelshochschule Wien (Austria)
      • Dr. Egon Smeral, WIFO, Vienna (Austria)
      • Dr. Sanda Weber, Institute for tourism, Zagreb (Croatia)
      • Prof. Klaus Weirmair, University of Innsbruck (Austria)
      • Prof. Thomas Bieger, University of St. Gallen (Switzerland)
      • Dr. Christian Laesser, Editor “Tourism Review”, University of St. Gallen (Switzerland)

      For more information, please visit the AIEST website: http://www.aiest.org

    6. Conference Announcement - 12th World Marketing Congress 

      The Marketing Center Muenster (MCM) has been selected by the Academy of Marketing Science to host the 12th WORLD MARKETING CONGRESS at the University of Muenster, Germany. The congress is to be held from July 5th to July 9th, 2005. For further information, please refer to www.wmc2005.org. A call for papers is coming up soon.

    7. Seminar Series in Relationship Marketing 

      SEMINAR SERIES
      in
      Relationship Marketing: Theory, Applications and Future Research Directions 
      www.rm.mgt.uea.ac.uk
      funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC-UK)

      Aims and objectives of the seminar series:

      • To consider how different theoretical perspectives have contributed to the development of our understanding of relationships among companies and with their customers and other stakeholders.
      • To examine the reasons underlying the limited success of relationship marketing in practice and create a pool of knowledge that can drive success based on the lessons learnt by companies trying to implement this approach.
      • To assess whether or not this approach can benefit non-profit and governmental organisations.
      • To disseminate pluralistic perspectives, acknowledge and reflect on substantive contributions in the field, and outline theoretical (research) and practical direction for the further development of the field from a research, as well as, teaching and learning perspective.

      The findings of the Research Seminar Series will be diffused widely. A special issue with articles emerging from the seminar will be hosted by the Journal of Marketing Management. Scholarly articles will also be submitted to other leading refereed journals. Visit our website to learn about current and forthcoming seminars as well as participate in useful dialogue and discussion with people interested in relationship marketing.

      Seminar topics include:

      SEMINAR 1:  Conceptual foundations of Relationship Marketing (December, 2003)
      SEMINAR 2: Interdisciplinary Relationship Marketing: Industrial, Services and Consumer Perspectives (March 2004)
      SEMINAR 3:  Making a compelling case for RM: What is its value for customers and how it can be measured?
      SEMINAR 4:  Customer Relationship Management and IT: The operational manifestation of RM
      SEMINAR 5:  Citizen Relationship Marketing: The case, the process, the outcome
      SEMINAR 6:  Conclusions and Evaluation of the Series: Guidelines for teaching and training people in RM.

      Contact details:

      Dr. Andrew Pressey, Email: a.pressey@uea.ac.uk
      Professor Nikolaos Tzokas, Email: n.tzokas@uea.ac.uk
      Web address for registration & information: www.rm.mgt.uea.ac.uk

  3. Publications & Calls for Papers

    1. Marketing Theory - Special Issue on New Perspectives on the History of Marketing Thought Submitted by Terry Witkowski

      Special issue of MARKETING THEORY

      Call for Papers

      New Perspectives on the History of Marketing Thought

      Special issue editor: Terrence H. Witkowski, Department of Marketing, California State University, Long Beach, USA

      This special issue will consist of articles that investigate marketing theory from an historical perspective. The emphasis will be on the marketing’s intellectual history – the evolution of marketing thought – rather than on substantive histories of specific firms, products, industries, business practices, government regulation, or purchasing and consumption trends. Relevant manuscripts bringing new insights are cordially invited for review.

      Topics may include, but are not limited to, the following areas:

      · Biographies of academics and practitioners who have contributed to the development of marketing thought.
      · Histories of the various schools of marketing thought such as the functional, commodity, institutional, managerial, and other schools.
      · Histories of key marketing definitions and concepts.
      · Histories of marketing thought outside the U.S. and cross-national comparisons.
      · Histories of consumer behavior schools, borrowed theories, and indigenous concepts.
      · Methodological issues in writing the history of marketing thought.
      · How history has been presented in marketing and consumer behavior texts.
      · Debunking bad marketing history such as flawed periodization schemes based on poor scholarship.
      · Critiquing allegedly “new” marketing theories that have not acknowledged their intellectual forebears.
      · Addressing the question: Does the history of marketing thought matter?

      The deadline for submitting papers is January 31, 2004. All papers should be sent electronically to Terry Witkowski at witko@csulb.edu. Service will be prompt and gentlemanly.

      For manuscript guidelines, follow the links at www.sagepub.co.uk. Full papers should be 5000 –7000 words in length. Lively commentary articles of about 2000 words are also welcome.

      Marketing Theory

      Editors-in-Chief:
      Dawn Burton, University of Leeds, UK
      Barbara Stern, Rutgers University, USA

      Editors:
      Richard P. Bagozzi, Rice University, USA
      Rod Brodie, University of Auckland, New Zealand
      Gordon R. Foxall, Cardiff Business School, UK
      Evert Gummesson, Stockholm University, Sweden
      Michael Saren, University of Strathclyde, Scotland

    2. European Review of Agricultural Economics - Special Issue on Risk Behaviour of Market Participants & Consumers Submitted by Joost M.E. Pennings

      European Review of Agricultural Economics

      Call for Papers

      Special Issue on Risk Behaviour of Market Participants & Consumers


      The European Review of Agricultural Economics is calling for papers for a special issue devoted to risk behaviour of market participants in the food marketing chain & consumers. The special issue will appear no later than mid-2004. The guest editors for the special issue are Olivier Mahul (World Bank & INRA) and Joost M.E. Pennings (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign & Wageningen University).

      We invite manuscripts on a broad range of topics including but not limited to risk assessment, risk behaviour, risk management and risk policy in primary production and in food supply and marketing chains. Risk in this context may refer to both financial as well as non-financial risk.

      In particular, we are seeking papers that address one or more of the following issues: modelling consumer risk behaviour, risk response strategies, interaction between risk behaviour/management of various market participants, interaction between various sources of risk, food safety, and risk management instruments (e.g., insurance, futures, etc.). The methodology to address these and other related topics may be rooted in economics, statistics and psychology.

      Submission Details
      The submission deadline for the special issue on: Risk Behaviour of Market Participants & Consumers is November 15, 2003. The standard refereeing procedures of the European Review of Agricultural Economics will apply. The submission guidelines of the ERAE may be viewed on the ERAE’s webpage at: http://www3.oup.co.uk/jnls/list/erae/instauth/. Manuscripts should be sent electronically in pdf format, with the identifying cover page in a separate file, to jmpennin@uiuc.edu. A single hard copy should also be sent by post to:

      Joost M.E. Pennings
      University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
      Department of Agricultural & Consumer Economics
      Marketing / Decision Sciences Group
      326 Mumford Hall, MC-710
      1301 W. Gregory Drive
      Urbana, IL 61801
      United States of America

    3. 3rd edition of "Marketing Strategy and Competitive Positioning" 

      Graham Hooley, John Saunders (both at Aston Business School) and Nigel Piercy (Warwick) are pleased to announce the third edition of their research-based text "Marketing Strategy and Competitive Positioning". The book is intended for strategic marketing courses at PostGraduate (MBA or MSc) or UnderGraduate level. New additions for the third edition include:

      • New chapters on the Changing Marketing Environment; and Competing through e-Marketing
      • Extended cases with discussion questions at the end of each chapter
      • Extensive updates throughout to include latest thinking and research, together with new and up-to-date examples
      • A downloadable instructors' website with PowerPoint presentations, teaching suggestions and outlines, and answers to end-of-chapter questions

      The book is published by Pearson Education.

    4. New book publication "La relación del consumidor con las agencias de viajes" 

      New book publication

      "La relación del consumidor con las agencias de viajes"
      (The consumer-travel agency relationship)

      by Sonia San Martín Gutiérrez

      Published in Spanish by the Servicio de Publicaciones of the University of Burgos


      Abstract

      This book analyses the relationships among the consumer’s trust, commitment and perception of the firm’s opportunism using an economic and relationship marketing approach. The proposed model is tested for the relationship between the consumer and his/her usual travel agency. The testing of the model shows that the “affective path” seems to be the best one to get the consumer’s real commitment and to maintain a solid and long-lasting relationship: the consumer’s trust in the firm’s good intentions reduces the fear of the firm’s opportunism and engender affective commitment, which leads to temporal commitment.

      Keywords: trust, commitment, opportunism, consumer-travel agency relationship.

      --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      Sonia San Martín Gutiérrez
      Departamento de Economía y Administración de Empresas
      Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Empresariales
      Universidad de Burgos
      C/ Parralillos, s/n
      09001-BURGOS
      Teléfono: +34 947 25 90 34
      e-mail: sanmargu@ubu.es

    5. New book publication "Rumors and Rumor Control" 

      New book publication

      Rumors and Rumor Control

      A Manager's Guide to Understanding and Combatting Rumors

      by

      Allan J. Kimmel, Ph.D.
      Professor of Marketing
      ESCP-EAP, European School of Management
      79, avenue de la Republique
      75543 Paris, France
      tel: 33(1)49.23.27.72
      fax: 33(1)49.23.22.48
      e-mail: ajkimmel@wanadoo.fr

    6. New publications 

      Marke Alpen, Bieger T., Tomczak T., Bischof L., Schubiger N.

      Study on the identity, image and brand of the alps
      IDT HSG & IMH HSG, St. Gallen 2003

      The impact of Megaevents on destination Images ? The Case of the Annual Meeting of the WEF in Davos
      Conference Paper, presented at the TTRA European Chapter, Glasgow 2003