فصلنامه مدیریت بازرگانی
سال دهم شماره 36 (تابستان 1397)

One way to influence the consumer behavior is advertising. Different mediums are used to make an effective advertisement, among which using mascots is of very high importance. In this research, the use of animal mascots has been studied, so that the customers’ response to the use of mascots can be analyzed within Iran market. Complying with credible criteria regarding costumer response, a questionnaire including 17 items detailing two aspects of the response, attitudinal and affective, has been designed. The questionnaire were responded within two stages, pre-exam and post-exam, and were distributed among 40 people who had been randomly chosen. IBM SPSS was used for the analysis of the data. The findings of the research showed that animal mascots are not well-received. However, there is a considerable difference between the responses of male and female participants. The results can be implemented by the marketing managers and practitioners to help them both theoretically and practically.

Today, researchers and practitioners both believe that paying attention to supply chain management can create a sustainable competitive advantage. Since 1990s onward, several various studies have been conducted on the supply chain management strategy, its formation and formulation processes. Thus, following systematic review merits, this paper aims to investigate and summarize the previous studies on supply chain strategy, to identify the research gaps and provide some suggestions for applying this concept in practice and future research. Findings showed that, there are several definitions, dimensions, typologies and taxonomies of supply chain strategy as well as several frameworks on supply chain strategy development. Practitioners and researchers alike, can benefit from the results of this paper to become familiar with the literature and summary of SCS studies, SCS content, problems, and existent conflicts in the field, and then to employ this competitive instrument in practice more effectively.

Experiential marketing is one of the newest methods of marketing that has attracted customers of the target market through the related connections of brand equity and brand image. This study has investigated mixed experiential marketing on brand equity and brand image in Royal Mattress Company. Research population includes 435 clients of this company and, based on the MORGAN table, the sample size was measured to be 204. Required data were collected through a questionnaire. Then, the data were analyzed using AMOS Software for Structural Equations. Overall, the results showed that the mixed experiential marketing has direct effects on brand equity and brand image and “the word of mouth” is the most effective component of experiential marketing. Consequently, using experiential marketing is an efficient method to create a proper mentality; therefore, in that case the companies can make their brand known as an excellent and valuable brand in the minds of the public.

This study aims to understand the emotional purchasing experience of durable goods investigating the people who had experienced an emotional purchase during purchasing home appliance dowry. In order to understand the emotional purchasing experience, a qualitative research method based on descriptive phenomenological approach was implemented because of the need for using lived experiences of the participants. As Colaizzi method is systematic in methodology, it was used for data analysis. Deep interviews with 14 people were conducted based on judgmental sampling until obtaining saturation. Validation of the results was obtained through bracketing implemented by the researcher, referring to the participants and earning their agreement. Finally, four themes were emerged and the process of “cognition, emotion, appraisal, and decision making” can be extracted combining the emerged themes. Research findings are very helpful in better understanding of consumers’ behavior and predicting their purchasing behavior. Appropriate use of the findings could be helpful in increasing customers’ satisfaction, which can lead to an increase in sale.

In the very competitive environments of distributor corporations hiring the sellers who are simultaneously competent and loyal is critical for improving sale performance. Among various determinant of sale performance, this research has investigated the intermediating role of organizational pride in the effect of employer branding on the sellers’ performance. The research is applied in nature and the method is descriptive and correlational. The population of interest consists of 850 sellers of Behpakhsh Corporation, among whom 220 have been randomly selected as the statistical sample. A standard questionnaire was used for data collection. Statistical tests such as confirmatory factor analysis, path analysis and t-test were used for data analysis through the LISREL and SPSS software. The results showed that all five studied aspects of employer branding (economic value, developmental value, social value, diversity value and fame value) have significantly positive effects on the sellers’ performance through organizational pride. Moreover, the current status of such factors was reported appropriate in that company.

Rapid and broad environmental changes have challenged traditional systems of planning and management, and strategic foresight systems are welcomed by companies ever-increasingly due to their flexibility in changing future alternatives. This research sought to provide a suitable model of strategic foresight for Iranian companies. The mixed-method approach was applied in this research. Using constant comparison analysis, the related surveyed literature and theoretical foundations, especially scientific articles in the last five years in the area of strategic management of Iranian companies, were analyzed and coded. The weaknesses and shortcomings of strategic management, and influential capabilities of strategic foresight that can cover those weaknesses, were prepared and listed. Then, the experts were asked to review and revise the list and propose a finalized list that suggests the framework and instructions of strategic foresight for Iranian companies. Finally, based on the finalized list, a process-based model of strategic foresight applicable for Iranian companies in order to develop and implement suitable strategies regarding the current unstable conditions, was introduced, validated, and verified.

Nowadays, the complex and dynamic field of the banking industry has faced challenges such as expanding competition, raising awareness and expectations of the customers. The low costs of changing the main bank for the customers and joining rival banks can be a result of the lack of loyalty programs in banks in order to bring about values for their customers. In fact, banks can increase their switching cost by creating loyalty in the customers. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of organization’s effective commitment to loyal customers on their citizenship behavior regarding the mediating role of effective commitment of loyal customers among Mellat Bank Branches in Neishabour. This study is applied in terms of the purpose and is a descriptive and surveying study in terms of collecting data. Data collection was done using a questionnaire. The statistical population of the research is those customers of Mellat bank branches in Neyshabur who have been cooperating with the bank for at least 3 years. The sample size consists of 240 customers chosen based on simple randomized sampling. Data analysis was done based on structural equation modeling and using Amos software. The results of the research indicated that the organization’s effective commitment to loyal customers has a significant effect on their citizenship behavior considering the mediating role of customer’s effective commitment.

This paper aims to provide one of the very first empirical tests of the mediating role of trade show marketing processes on the relationship between effective factorsand achieving the goals of the trade fair. The present research is applied in terms of purpose and is descriptive-survey correlational in terms of methodology. In this research, lots of data were collected distributing questionnaires among furnishing manufacturers trying to extend and sell their products in international exhibition in Qazvin. A final total of 223 exhibitors, from among 350 firms, fully completed the questionnaires. After obtaining the data through structural equation, they were analyzed using AMOS (v.18). The results of this research showed that “staff training” and “management capabilities” were considered as the most important parameters influencing the exhibition-based processes. In addition, it was found that the ongoing processes on the exhibition site have significantly positive effects on the selling and non-selling objectives of the firms. At the end, this research has proposed suitable solutions on how to effectively and optimally use the affective factors on those processes and its effectiveness on achieving trade show goals in the business.

Identifying the customer's values, needs, and goals is one of the key issues affecting successful marketing. Cosmetics products are of utmost importance among business sectors that have attracted the attention of companies. The purpose of this study is to identify the behavior of consumers buying hair color in Kermanshah city using a laddering technique. This research is applied in terms of goals and is qualitative and exploratory as regards with the methodology. The data were collected using interviews. The statistical population consisted of 30 customers of Kermanshah cosmetic labors who have been selected based on targeted method and interviewed afterwards. The laddering technique chosen for this research was straightforward technique. This means that, in reviewing customer purchasing behavior, at first, the essential characteristics of the product (hair color) for the customer were obtained, then the product benefits associated with those characteristics were extracted, and ultimately the instrumental and ultimate values regarding the purchasing of the products were analyzed. In order to identify the ultimate values of consumers, the Rokich endpoint and instrumental value checklist has been used. The findings of this study showed that “beauty”, “health”, “financial security”, “self-esteem” and “happiness” are the most important values among consumers of color products, respectively. In addition, “cost-effectiveness”, “unrepeated use of hair colors”, “less damage to skin and hair”, and “high shelf-life, softness and shining characteristics” were among the most important benefits to the consumers.

In recent years many researchers have focused on cognitive aspects and mental structures of the managers to identify the strategies. They claim that in order to become familiar with how strategies are formulated and developed, they should evaluate the mind of the strategists and somehow decode the black box. Therefore, the present study aimed to understand the managers’ strategic thinking process and to investigate the similarities in their thinking processes. Semi-structured interviews were conducted based on Zaltman metaphor elicitation technique (ZMET) interviews process. Interviews were conducted with 18 managers from two dairy industry companies. The data were analyzed based on Emerging approach of grounded theory. The results of this study demonstrated that the managers of a company are using a shared mental model during strategic thinking. This similarity in their thinking process can be considered to be due to their communications and collaborative work experience. In addition, comparing the common mental model in the two companies, no significant similarity was found in their thinking process. But, there are some similarities between the mental structures of the managers of the two companies.

Business model innovation is especially significant when the environment is prone to changes and complexities. Sensemaking functionality is to eliminate this ambiguity and help the organization achieve the accurate understanding of the environment in order to adjust the business model devised by the top management. This paper aims at studying the relationship between sensemaking capability and business model innovation. Environmental dynamism factors and top management team (TMT) characteristics are included as moderate variables. The survey was conducted among 287 organizations in IT and ICT industry, through a questionnaire. The data were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) method, which revealed there is a significant relationship between sensemaking and business model innovation. Business environmental dynamism and TMT’s education (among TMT characteristics) were identified as the mediators of such a relationship.