Managers of retail stores, restaurants, and hotels take great care in creating physical environments that are conducive to their business goals. However, little empirical research has been conducted regarding the extent to which manipulations of the environment affect consumer behavior. This study examined the effect of one aspect of the ambient environment on consumers, namely ambient scent. Scent is a component of the environment, and a growing body of olfaction research indicates that it may effect human mood and behavior. To explore the effects of pleasant ambient scent, a laboratory experiment was conducted. The experiment measured the responses of 308 female undergraduate students to a series of multiple item scales completed under one of three scent conditions, coconut, muguet, and a no scent control condition. In addition to the scale items, the data collection instrument also included an open ended thought listing task. Observational analysis also was conducted, as was a series of follow-up interviews. The data were examined both quantitatively and qualitatively. The findings from the study are best described as equivocal. Contrary to the expectations, pleasant ambient scent was not found to have a positive effect on product evaluation. However, pleasant ambient scent did appear to have a slight positive effect on the evaluation of the room in which the study was held. Ambient scent also appeared to have a slight relaxation effect on the respondents. This effect was evidenced by respondents' lower levels of thought listing and lower likelihood of intensive product evaluations in the scent conditions. The results also suggest a slight interaction effect. The evaluation of products that respondents perceived to be high in personal relevance appeared to be less affected by the relaxation effect. The results imply that ambient scent does affect consumer behavior, but this effect is very slight.

The channel context for manufacturers and retailers is changing due to intensified market competition and emerging information technologies such as the Internet. The execution of Internet-enabled channel strategies by manufacturers and service-providers may significantly alter existing channel structures and processes. Despite the contributions of past marketing channels research toward understanding channel strategy end issues, important theoretical and managerial issues have yet to be addressed. Theoretically and managerially, there is a need for research that identifies the challenges facing executives as they seek to transform channel strategy within an Internet-enabled channel context. This research seeks to understand the complex managerial issues resulting from manufacturers' or service-providers' execution of Internet-enabled marketing channel strategies. I develop a grounded framework that examines channel strategy transformation within an Internet-enabled environment. This framework draws from the marketing channels literature and is based upon results from indepth interviews with executives involved in channel strategy at five manufacturing or service-provision firms, each from within a distinct industry and exhibiting varying degrees of Internet channel adoption. This research suggests five themes that illustrate the complex issues and challenges facing firms as they transition to the Internet-enabled channel context. First, all five firms involved in this research exercise some degree of channel control system in order to drive their markets and maintain channel relations with key channel intermediaries. Second, this research suggests the continued importance of physical location as an important channel strategy consideration. Third, these findings provide support for a multidimensional, process-based view of intrafirm and interfirm channel conflict. Fourth, this research suggests a reverse channel process in which consumers, empowered by richer and greater amounts of information accessible online, increasingly drive and control the exchange process. Fifth, these findings highlight the importance, as well as complexity, of channel convergence decisions. The key theoretical contribution of this research is that it begins to extend the marketing channels literature in areas such as channel control and conflict, reverse channel processes, and channel convergence. Managerially, this research provides a thorough understanding of the complex channel strategy considerations facing executives and managers at fans employing Internet-enabled channel strategies.

Long-term relationships are desirable to the structuring of interfirm exchange as they afford firms with specific advantages. The effective governance of these relationships is important for their success. In this study a framework is proposed that looks at the effects of governance processes on the attitudinal outcomes of the vulnerable channel members. Specifically the framework proposes that in unilateral governance formats, governance processes are used to control opportunism. However, the perceptions of justice of the more vulnerable party in the channel relationship moderates the effect of control mechanisms on opportunism as well as other attitudinal channel outcomes. The theoretical framework is tested in the automobile franchise context which exhibits consistent unilateral governance structures. Questionnaires were mailed to five hundred automobile franchisees. The results show that governance mechanisms have an effect on the attitudes of channel members and that justice moderates the relationship between governance and relationship outcomes but not to the extent hypothesized indicating the existence of other contextual factors that may moderate the relationship between governance and outcomes.

Consumer procrastination is an understudied phenomenon in marketing. Through three essays, this dissertation extends the knowledge of consumer procrastination by examining dispositional and situational causes of several constructs and behaviors related to procrastination, the subsequent impact of procrastination on marketing- relevant variables such as cognitions, experiences, emotions, and behaviors, and the role of variables that moderate the effect of procrastination. Using a multi-trait, multi-method, multi-context, and multi-sample approach, Essay 1 examines the effect of trait procrastination, the Big-Five personality factors, and the characteristics of the task at hand on procrastination behavior. The results of an online survey and a SMS-based Experience Sampling Method show that Internet-enabled procrastination explains online procrastination behavior of the younger and older generations. The findings also indicate that indecisive procrastinators are agreeable and neurotic but less conscientious and open to experience; high task procrastinators are neurotic and less open. Essay 2 examines the joint effects of trait procrastination and goal-directedness of online activities to explain how consumers experience flow online and how they respond to marketers' influence strategies. The result of an online survey shows decisional procrastination leads to greater Internet-enabled procrastination which in turn, leads to greater flow and purchase behavior. Goal-directedness increased (decreased) purchase frequency for non-procrastinators (indecisive procrastinators). The proposed model of flow re-enforces the importance of this compelling experience in increasing online purchase decisions and simultaneously provides theoretical understanding on how online procrastination acts as an addictive behavior. Essay 3 examines the market versus personality-related antecedents of consumer procrastination and its consequences in terms of post-decision cognitions, emotions and behaviors through a series of scenario-based experiments. The results indicate time limit, price uncertainty, price consciousness, sale proneness and prestige seeking positively influence consumer delay in making purchase decisions. Further, the positive impact of uncertainty is only salient when people have short time limits rather than long ones. We also found when the outcome knowledge is unpleasant, respondents who decided to wait for a better sale experience greater self-responsibility and regret but have lower intention for exit, voice or WOM compared to the people who had purchased the product.

In order to satisfy consumers' needs and wants, marketers present consumers with choices of products and services through marketplace exchanges (Bagozzi 1974; 1975). Some products and services offered in marketing exchange are prosocial, forcing consumers to consider social, environmental, and economic attributes in their decision making process (Devinney, Auger, and Eckhardt 2010; Peloza and Shang 2011). Prior research in sustainability gives limited consideration to consumer-centric approaches to prosocial consumption research (Sheth, Sethia, and Srinivas 2011). Equity theory (Adams 1963; 1965), a theoretical framework established in the management literature, serves as an appropriate framework for studying how consumers are predisposed to prosocial consumption choices. This dissertation fills a gap inherent to the current, reasoned action paradigm of prosocial consumption research by 1) presenting a framework of equity exchange that helps explain prosocial consumption and 2) investigating—with respect to equity exchange—how individual difference dispositions influence prosocial consumption. This dissertation consists of two essays: In the first essay, "Equity Exchange and Consumer Sensitivity to Prosocial Choices," I present a theory of equity exchange, an operationalized construct of equity exchange—equity exchange sensitivity (Huseman, Hatfield, and Miles 1985; 1987)—and empirical support for equity exchange sensitivity's role in the prosocial consumption literature. In the second essay, "The Role of Equity Exchange Sensitivity in the Price-Perceived Quality Context," I test how equity exchange segments predict prosocial consumption preferences with respect to the price-perceived quality relationship (Levin and Johnson 1984; Rao and Monroe 1989; Zeithaml 1988). This dissertation makes several theoretical and substantive contributions. First, I assess how equity exchange theory can impact how researchers and marketers can take a consumer-centric approach to prosocial consumption behaviors. Second, I review how equity exchange sensitivity segmentation benefits both researchers and marketers in understanding how individual difference dispositions predict prosocial consumption choice. Finally, I present suggestions for future research testing the boundary conditions of equity exchange theory, including the potential to broaden its applicability beyond prosocial consumption to more general consumption decisions.

Changes in the business environment have resulted in an increasing number of companies participating in activities outside the boundaries of the traditional company (Binder and Clegg 2006; Mehta 2004). The traditional model of one firm competing against another firm is rapidly becoming extinct with the focus now shifting to competition between supply chains (Sutton 2006). Although supply chains are important to marketing, the marketing literature does not pay enough attention to supply chains (Svensson 2002). Theoretical perspectives such as market orientation focus primarily on the value of knowledge acquired from the customer, competitors or environment while ignoring activities and knowledge from the supplier base. Since the exchange of knowledge between a buyer firm and its supply base is crucial to the marketing function (Jüttner et al. 2007), it is important for theoretical perspectives in marketing to also include the supplier's perspective (Min and Mentzer 2000). This dissertation empirically tests the effects that the exchange of knowledge between a buyer firm and its suppliers has on the buyer's marketing process innovation and value creation.

Facing an increasingly competitive marketplace, many firms have turned toward formal alliances with other entities in order to achieve strategic advantages. With this alliance growth comes a need for a greater understanding of the impact that such public affiliations can have on consumer attitudes. While marketing research has noted how public brand activity can influence perceptions about a brand (see Aaker 1991, 1996; Keller 1993, 1998), it remains unclear whether brand alliances can act as significant brand associations and subsequently alter brand beliefs. The goal of this dissertation was to examine the impact that alliances may have on brand perceptions. The study explored whether brand attitudes concerning image and favorability can be enhanced, diluted, or strengthened as the result of an alliance. Based on insight from schema theory, the associative network memory model, and congruity theory it was hypothesized that brand image and favorability perceptions could be altered by an alliance.

This dissertation sought to apply the construct of knowledge calibration to the domain of consumer research. Product involvement, product type, and general self-efficacy were postulated to influence calibration of consumer knowledge. Need for cognition was proposed as a moderator to the relationships between (a) product involvement and calibration, and (b) product type and calibration. Calibration, in turn, was proposed to affect decision-making accuracy. The proposed model was informed by research in the streams of psychology and consumer behavior. Insurance and music were chosen as the two product categories based on pretests. The questionnaire, measuring the constructs under study, was developed based on literature review, expert interviews, and pretests among knowledgeable respondents. Data was collected from 332 students enrolled in undergraduate business courses. Regression analysis was used to test the proposed effects. Moderation was examined using subgroup analysis. Results show that four of the ten hypotheses were supported at the .05 level of significance. One hypothesis was partially supported (linear effect instead of the proposed curvilinear effect). The key result of the study is the empirical validation of the calibration – decision-making relationship. It was also found that significant proportions of consumers are underconfident in their knowledge. As an early examination of knowledge calibration in the consumer domain, the findings are promising. Several avenues of possible research have been highlighted. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Marketing in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester, 2005. / June 30, 2005. / Knowledge Calibration, Confidence Subjective Knowledge, Consumer Knowledge / Includes bibliographical references. / Ronald E. Goldsmith, Professor Directing Dissertation; James Carson, Outside Committee Member; Michael Brusco, Committee Member; Charles Hofacker, Committee Member.

Numerous terms have been used, often interchangeably, to describe the circumstances whereby consumers play a role in crafting the goods and services they ultimately consume. Chapter 1 answers the question "What is co-production?" by providing a review of the terminology relevant to this phenomenon. The perspectives of researchers hailing from a wide variety of disciplines are cited and summarized, providing a foundation for the three essays that follow. Chapter 2 (Essay 1) demonstrates that increasing product customizability leads to heightened perceptions regarding both personal control and the variety offered by the configuration interface. More interestingly, however, the results demonstrate that these perceptions exert opposing influences on two distinct behavioral intentions. While perceived control is found to increase intentions to create an original product and decrease intentions to replicate a familiar product, the exact opposite is true for perceptions of variety which promote product replication and discourages creativity. Mediation tests reveal two instances of a relatively rare form of "inconsistent mediation" whereby a null effect of the initial variable is completely accounted for by the positive influence of one intervening variable and the negative influence of another. These finding highlight the complexity surrounding consumers' response to co-production opportunities and may help resolve an apparent conflict in the literature between those who argue in favor of less vs. more choice. In chapter 3, a second essay reports the results of three studies exploring the potential for customized products to induce placebo-like effects with regards to athletic, academic, and professional performance. For example, in study 3, when paired with information regarding the psychological effects of color, allowing students to customize the color of their exam resulted in significantly higher average scores (84% vs. 79%). All three studies point to increased confidence as the mechanism intervening between expectancies of customized products and individual performance. These findings contribute to the very limited amount of research regarding placebo effects in marketing contexts and also further our understanding regarding how these effects operate. Additionally, the results suggest that an important driver of demand for customized products might be anticipated increases in felt confidence. The final essay of this dissertation, presented in chapter 4, examines the interaction between product performance and relational information processes in determining consumer commitment to the co-producing firm. The results demonstrate that, in terms of both affective and calculative commitment, relational information processes have the potential to completely counteract the effect of a negative outcome. Indeed, the results suggest that the greatest potential for building customer relationships may lie with individuals who have experienced a co-production failure. These findings highlight the need for firms to invest their resources in creating effective relational processes. This implication is especially relevant given research demonstrating that consumers may often co-produce products that perform worse than expected. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Marketing in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester, 2009. / April 30, 2009. / Mass Customization, Consumer Behavior / Includes bibliographical references. / J. Joseph Cronin, Professor Directing Dissertation; William Christiansen, Outside Committee Member; Charles Hofacker, Committee Member; Jeffery Smith, Committee Member.

Firms have come to believe that the means to inculcate loyalty and to retain customers is to establish a relationship with them through relationship marketing. Global spending on relationship marketing topped $11 billion in 2010, yet only about half of the firms surveyed in a recent Forrester Research study indicated any level of success with relationship marketing. In addition, academic research regarding relationship marketing is fragmented and has yielded mixed results. A review of the literature suggests that the inconsistencies in relationship marketing are due to an overall lack of understanding of what a relationship is in the marketplace. Specifically, researchers have failed to define the relationship construct; the field lacks a model of the relationship process; relationship marketing is applied uniformly across all service types; and managers have not taken the consumers' view into account. Significant comparisons have been made between relationships in the marketplace and social relationships. Ironically, little attention has been given to the literatures most pertinent to social relationships. The goal of the present research is to provide insight on the nature of marketplace relationships by first proposing a definition of "relationship"--the fundamental element of relationship marketing. Second, a relationship process model adapted from the communication and social psychology literature is then offered, as well as a typology of service types. Lastly, a qualitative study is conducted to gain specific insight into consumer perspective regarding marketplace relationships and a quantitative study empirically tests whether relationship development differs according to service type. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Marketing in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester, 2012. / April 25, 2012. / Relationship Marketing, Services Marketing, Turning Point Analysis / Includes bibliographical references. / Ron Goldsmith, Professor Directing Dissertation; Gerald Ferris, University Representative; Charlie Hofacker, Committee Member; Ruby (Pui Wan) Lee, Committee Member.