Exam questions:
1. Which of the following is true about the analysis that De Swaan Arons, Driest and Weed
(2014) use to derive their conclusions?
- They distinguish between underperformance and overperformance on the basis of a
firm`s three-year revenue growth relative to the firms competitors and compare the
answers of under – and overperformers on a number of questions
- They distinguish between underperformers and overperformers on the basis of a firms’
three-year revenue growth relative to the firm`s competitors and run a separate
regression for each form with the survey questions as predictor variables.
- They use the answer to over 80 survey questions as predictor variables in a regression
model in which firms three-year revenue growth relative to the firms competitors is
modelled as the outcome variable
- They use the answers to over 80 survey questions as predictor variable in a logistic
regression model, in which whether a firm is an underperformer or overperformer is
modified as the binary outcome variable.
2. In the paper on communication channels and word of mouth, Beger and Iyengar (2013)
only use student samples to test their assumptions.
- Not true, they conducted several field experiments to test their assumptions
- Not true. They also used large cross-sectional databases in the last two studies to
validate their previous findings
- True. But they increased validity of their results by using student samples from various
universities across the US
- True, across all 5 studies the authors only had student samples
3. What do Kushwaha and Shankar conclude with regards to hedonic products based on their
findings?
- Multichannel customers are the most valuable segment for hedonic product categories
- The difference in spending between catalog only and web-only customers is not
significant for hedonic products
- Hedonic products, utilitarian products can be easily compared and evaluated along
different attributes
- For hedonic product categories perceived as high risk, web only shoppers constitute the
most valuable segment
4. Centrality has the following consequences in the paper” What makes it green?”
- When consumers are explicitly told that a green attribute is structurally important, they
infer that the entire product is greener than when they are told that the entire green
attribute I not structurally important
- A less central green component`s influence on the perceived overall greenness of a
product decreases when it was specially designed to work with other components
- The effect of a green components centrality is dependent on a green components
importance in a consumers choice
- Centrality only plays a minimal role in a consumer perception of what makes a product
green
5. Stokburger-Sauer, Ratneshwar, and Sen (2009) studied the antecedents of consumer-
brand identification. Which of the following is NOT a limitation put forward by the authors?
- The authors assumed a causal relationship between antecedents and outcomes
, - The authors only tested subjects in Western societies
- The authors neglected important downstream consequences of consumer brand
identification
- The authors only tested products rather than services
6. Which of the following psychological human tendencies is mentioned by Muller, Vogt and
Koll (2012) as an explanation to the compromise effect?
- Hyperbolic temporal discounting
- Attribution theory
- Risk aversion
- Distance-Density theory
7. Muller, Vogt and Kroll investigated the compromise effect. Which of the following
statements about their research is true?
- Consumer preference are influenced by the relative positions of options in the
perceptual product space to the extent that alternatives that are positioned between
other non-dominating alternatives are more preferred than extreme options
- The authors use non-student samples to address the lack of realism in most studies on
the compromise effect that use forced choices between fictious options in hypothetical
choice setting of student samples
- The stimuli used in the experiments consist of durable goods
- The compromise effect is strong and significant among price seeking consumers,
whereas the compromise effect is weak and insignificant among quality conscious
subjects
8. In the paper “The handmade effect”, Fuchs Schieier and Osselaer (2015) claim that
handmade products are more attractive than machine -made products. Which of the
following claims is NOT true?
- The effect of handmade products being perceived as more attractive is driven by the
perception that these products contain “love”
- Consumers show a higher purchase intention to handmade products when they buy gifts
for loved ones.
- The handmade effect has no implication for consumers` willingness to pay more for the
handmade product over a machine-made product
- Consumers are willing to pay more for handmade products to convey “love”
9. In the article “Are multichannel customers really more valuable? The moderating role of
products category characteristics” (Kushwaha and Shankar, 2013), what type of research
method did the authors use to study the effectiveness of multichannel marketing?
- Meta-analysis
- Quantitative research
- Qualitative research
- Performative research
10. Which of the following constructs is a driver of consumer-brand identification according to
the results of Stokburger, Ratneshwar, and Sen (2009)
- Brand elements
- All of the answer options
- Brand prestige
- Brand social benefit
,11. Van Doorn and Verhoef (2011) investigate why consumers are unwilling to pay a price
premium for organic food. They find that:
- Consumers perceive organic food as more healthful than its conventional counterpart and
are therefore willing to pay more for it
- Product quality is the main variable which organic claims affect willingness to pay
- An organic claim never has a positive direct effect on willingness to pay for value products
- Pro-social benefits and health benefits play a major role in consumers` willingness to pay
for organic food
12. In their paper investigating consumer beliefs about quality and taste, Spiller and Belogova
make several interesting findings. Which of the following statements about the findings is
true: When consumers believe that their chosen products are objectively better rather than
better matches with their preferences...?
- The differences in willingness to pay between products decreases with perceived
objectivity
- Consumers are less likely to make inferences from choices across other consumers
- Consumers are willing to pay more for a chosen product than for an alternative
- Consumers self-reference more when explaining their choices
13. Bexendale, Macdonald and Wilson (2015) investigated the impact of different touchpoints
on brand consideration. According to the authors, what distinguished their study from other
(time-series) media mix study?
- Their study uses a RET (real-time experience tracking) method by which respondents
report on touchpoints by contemporaneous text message
- The study allows for consumers homogeneity in both touchpoint frequency and positively
- All of the answer options
- Their study is the first to investigate the store-alone impact of brand, retailer, peer and
earned touchpoints on the customer`s brand relationship
14. In their paper on green attribute centrality and product perceptions, Gershoff and Frels find
that products with identical environmental benefits are evaluated as more or less green
depending on whether these benefits are central or peripheral to the product. For which of
the following marketing mix elements is the finding relevant?
- Relevant for both product and promotion
- Promotion: shows companies which aspects of a product should be emphasized in their
communication
- Product: it can help companies make better decisions when it comes to prioritizing
which aspects of a product should be green
15. Spiller and Belogova investigate consumer beliefs about quality and taste. Which of the
following limitations were not addressed by the authors?
- All were mentioned
- Limitations with regard to the hypothetical measure of willingness to pay
- Limitations with regard to the sample of product comparison
- Limitations with regard to the measure of perceived objectivity
16. Which of the following was a finding in the study by Bexendale, Macdonald and Wilson
(2015)?
- All of the characteristics of all touchpoints, the frequency of retailer advertising has the
largest positive impact on brand consideration
,- The positivity of competitors` instore communication does not significantly impact brand
consideration of a focal brand
- Peer observation has a larger impact on brand consideration change than WOM, both in
terms of frequency and positivity
- On average, respondents who reported the highest brand consideration before the RET
procedures (T-0) reported the highest positive changes in brand consideration after the
RET procedures (T-1).
17. Which of the following findings is NOT a major finding in the study on communication
channels and WOM by Berger and Iyengar (2013)
- Asynchrony leads consumers to talk more interesting products and brands because it
provides them with the opportunity to meet their self-enhancement
- Consumers mention more interesting products and brands in writing because written
communication was found to be more asynchronous than oral communication
- Making oral communication more asynchronous by making consumers pause and think
before they talk did not result in mentioning more interesting products and brands
- Communication modality influences the type of products consumers discuss. When
consumers communicate in writing, they mention more interesting products and brands
than when they communicate orally.
18. Which of the following constructs have been tested as viable explanations for the
handmade effect (Fuchs et al, 2015)
- Effort, product quality, innovativeness and authenticity
- Uniqueness, effort, product quality, innovativeness, and pride
- Product quality, innovativeness, effort, authenticity, and pride
- Uniqueness, effort, product quality, authenticity and pride
19. De Swaan Arons, Driest, and Weed (2014) identify “winning characteristics” of high-
performing marketing organizations. Which of the following functions is NOT identified
winning characteristics by the authors?
- Big data, big insights
- Organizing the growth
- Total experience
- Purposeful positioning
20. What is the contribution of Study 3 in van Doorn & Verhoef`s (2011) paper on the
perception of organic claims for vice and virtue products?
- Study 3 has various alternative explanations
- Study 3 extends the effect to a non-product category
- Study 3 tests the proposed effects in a large-scale field study with a sample that is
representative of the Dutch population
- Study 3 applies a more consequential and realistic measure of willingness to pay.
21. Baxendale, Macdonald, and Wilson (2015) investigated the impact of different touchpoints
on brand consideration. Which of the following was a finding in their study?
- Of all characteristics of all touchpoints, the frequency AND positivity of instore
communications had the largest positive impact on brand consideration change.
- On average, respondents that reported the highest brand consideration before the RET
(real- time experience tracking) procedures (T=0), reported the highest positive changes in
the brand consideration after the RET procedures (T=1).
, - The positivity of competitors’ instore communications does not significantly impact brand
consideration of a focal brand.
- WOM has a larger impact than peer observations (Word Of Mouth) on brand consideration
change, both in terms of frequency and positivity.
Marketing Process (in 6 steps)
1. Business Mission: A shared sense of purpose, direction and opportunity.
Also looks at the vision of a company.
Provides a shared sense of purpose, direction and opportunity to managers, employees
and (in many cases) customers.
Reflects a vision, an almost „impossible dream“ that provides a direction for the company /
business unit for the next 10-20 years.
Defines the major competitive spheres within which the company will operate (industry,
products and applications, competence, market segment, vertical sphere, geographical
sphere).
Stresses the firm ‘s major policies, values and culture.
, 2. Market Analysis: Macro, and Internal analysis (leading to SWOT).
Importance of Environmental Scanning
- Environmental scanning provides the essential information input to create a
strategic fit between strategy, the organization and the environment.
- Marketing is externally focused (i.e. marketing orientation)
- Need to be proactive, to anticipate change
- Information and understanding essential
- Formal component of marketing plan
- Organization-environment fit
Actions as a result of environmental scanning
- Ignorance
- Delay
- Gradual repositioning
- Radical repositioning
Marketing Audit: A marketing audit is a systematic, critical and unbiased appraisal of an
organisation’s market environment and of its operations
- Where is the company now?
- Where does the company want to go?
- How should the company organise its resources to get there?
