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Changes to the marketing environment occur in numerous ways and with a wide range of characteristics. This research examines the effects of - and responses to - surprise, which is defined as disruptive, discontinuous events that result in unexpected changes to the environment. Some authors have suggested that organizations have tended to overestimate their ability both to predict and to control calamitous environmental events, resulting in relatively little attention being paid to environmental surprise in the marketing literature (Cunha et al, 2006). Indeed, much of the research in this domain has focused on improving organizations' ability to recognize - or even anticipate - such events, thus rendering them not surprises (Ansoff, 1975; Lampel & Shapira, 2001). But, as Cunha and associates respond, "... researchers should investigate how organizations might deal with unanticipated events," not just how to avoid them (2006, p. 320, emphasis added). This research addresses a portion of the identified gap. Just as there is a range of possible changes and change types, organizations' responses also vary. Depending on the nature of the environmental event(s), the appropriate form of strategic response can be quite different. Therefore, how organizations respond to environmental change is a critical element of their marketing strategies. Remaining properly aligned with their external surroundings has repeatedly been shown to produce significant benefits in terms of marketing performance and financial success (Venkatraman & Prescott, 1990). Barney and associates state that "... to the extent some firms in a rapidly changing environment are more nimble, more able to change quickly, and more alert to changes in their competitive environment, they will be able to adapt to changing market conditions more rapidly than competitors, and thus gain competitive advantage" (2001, p. 631). Study 1 What happens when firms are confronted by a strategic surprise - defined as "sudden, urgent, unfamiliar change" (Ansoff 1975, p. 22) - such as the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001? Numerous studies have examined how strategic change, in the aftermath of a significant environmental event, contributes to organizational survival and success. But, is strategic change the appropriate response to unexpected and disruptive environmental change? And is there a preferred trajectory for change, such that certain strategies are better suited than others to the post-surprise environment? This exploratory research examines whether or not strategic change is an appropriate response to strategic surprise by considering the actions of motor carriers in the aftermath of 9/11. The data evidences significant disruption to the trucking industry following the event; for example, among the sample, mean operating ratios declined by more than 50%. But while nearly 40% of the carriers studied changed their strategies in the post-9/11 environment, this did not guarantee better performance. In fact, all carriers fared worse following the attacks, but those carriers that changed strategies actually performed significantly worse than those that persisted with their pre-9/11 strategies. Study 2 In Study 2, a scoring model of strategic resilience is developed that enables motor carriers to assess their likelihood of withstanding disruptive environmental change. Supply chain resilience is an emergent research stream that considers the ability of a supply chain network to anticipate, prepare for, and adapt to significant environmental risks in the form of disruptions and unanticipated events (Ponomarov & Holcomb, 2009). This study examines the ability of motor carriers - a critical and essential component of most supply chains - to survive such events. Using variables identified in Study 1, together with those from numerous previous studies in the prediction-model research domain, the second study considers which factors are significant and contribute the most utility to an overall resilience score. In addition, this study approaches the model-building process using a proven methodology (conjoint analysis) which previously has not been applied to this type of research, while examining an especially broad range of possible alternatives. The resultant model provides firms in the motor-carrier industry with a "resilience score" that suggests their likelihood of survival in the post-event marketing environment. The resilience model enables motor carriers to self-assess their ability to withstand disruptive events in the marketing environment, including strategic surprises such as 9/11. Motor carriers with weaker scores (i.e., less than 600, on a scale from 300 to 900) are more likely to exit - though clearly are not guaranteed to do so. This model correctly identified nearly 70% of carriers that ultimately exited from the industry. In addition, the model provided evidence of where motor carriers should focus their attention in a post-disruption marketing environment. Six factors emerged as most significant to carriers' resilience as evidenced by the model. These elements are recommended as the metrics to which carriers themselves - and dependent supply chain network members - pay most attention following an environmental disruption. / Business Administration/Marketing

This dissertation examines the effects of hope and perceptions of control on compliance and satisfaction with medical regimens recommended to patients living with a chronic illness. The present research advances a model that attempts to predict compliance health behaviors and satisfaction with health treatments by incorporating perceptions of control conceptualized using locus of control and self-efficacy, and hope as identified by appraisal theories of emotions and measured using the Herth Hope Index. The proposed model is empirically tested in the context of a lifestyle changing chronic illness: Diabetes Type II. The concept of `perceptions of control' constitutes a central component of most social cognition models and its positive effects on health have been well documented in the literature. However, in health care services, customers experience illness, pain, uncertainty, fear and mainly perceived lack of control. What happens when patients experience loss of control? Does this explain the low compliance levels that we witness today? What if patients experience loss of control, but have high levels of hope? Hope has been associated with higher medical regimen adherence and higher levels of satisfaction. People need hope and manage to have it even in the worst circumstances. In an attempt to answer these questions, the basic premise of the formulation offered here is that the emotion of hope can play an important mediating role between perceptions of control and health behavior and health service evaluation. The empirical findings of this dissertation are mainly based on cross-sectional panel survey data from 222 Diabetes Type II patients, multiple regression analyses, and structural equation procedures following mediation analysis guidelines. The data analyses results from testing three competing models about the dynamics between hope and control support the role of hope as a mediator between perceptions of control dimensions and compliance and satisfaction with the medical treatment. In particular, the results revealed that hope mediates the effects of self-efficacy and doctors health locus of control on compliance and satisfaction. It appears that individuals have higher levels of hope only to the extent that they believe they are capable of performing the actions required by their Diabetes Type II treatment, and/or that their health outcomes are under the control of powerful doctors. These two dimensions of control lead to higher levels of compliance and satisfaction with the treatment regimen through hope. The developed model contributes to transformative consumer research by assisting in solving the challenge of patient compliance with recommended health behaviors. The low levels of compliance across various medical conditions and the increasing rate of people suffering from chronic illnesses constitute pressing research concerns in consumer research. The current research enhances the understanding of compliance behaviors and satisfaction with health services by exploring two of their potential antecedents: hope and perceptions of control; and it represents a step towards enhancing consumer health and well-being. / Business Administration/Marketing

This dissertation is a compilation of three essays that analyze price dispersion in an online retail marketplace. Price dispersion is a measure of the variation in prices that sellers charge for products. Online price dispersion has been thoroughly analyzed in the past decade as it has numerous implications for firm pricing strategy as well as consumer welfare. Chapter 1 of this dissertation offers a literature review of price dispersion research, and discusses key explanations as to why this phenomenon exists on the web. Also, a literature review of shop-bots is presented as they are similar to online marketplaces and form the basis of the three studies. Chapter 2 is the first study, and it establishes the existence of price dispersion in online marketplaces and offers a comparison with price dispersion in shop-bots. It is determined that online marketplaces may have less variation than on shop-bots, yet the price dispersion is still high. Chapter 3 is the second study and it explains much of the dispersion found in the online marketplace through differences in seller service quality and seller reputation. A seller's reputation was found to be the key contributor to variation in the online marketplace hence, study 3, which is chapter 4 of this dissertation, employs an experimental approach designed to offer a perspective of buyers and sellers to determine why price varies with reputation and if consumers value the reputation score. It was determined that buyers prefer sellers with strong long run reputation scores more than sellers with strong short-term reputation scores. Based on these reputation scores sellers want to try to offer a higher price than consumers are willing to pay, and sellers think that a strong score conveys higher levels of trust than buyers believe. This mismatch between how sellers think consumers respond, and how the consumers actually respond could be another driver of price dispersion online. A discussion of the implications of these research studies is offered in Chapter 5. / Business Administration