http://repub.eur.nl/res/aut/855/ List of Publications en http://repub.eur.nl/static-eur/img/logo.png http://repub.eur.nl http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/20839/ 2010-11-01T00:00:00Z An attractive feature of Prediction Markets (PMs) is that they provide economic incentives for informants to share unique information. It is unclear whether PMs are appropriate for applications with few knowledgeable informants as is the case for most institutional forecasting tasks. Hence, we compare the performance of small PMs with traditional judgment-based forecasting approaches. Our results show that forecasts from small PMs outperform traditional approaches in settings of high information-heterogeneity (i.e., where the amount of unique information possessed by informants is relatively high) and are no worse in settings of low information-heterogeneity. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/20838/ 2010-08-01T00:00:00Z Advances in information technology and changing customer needs for channel service outputs have dramatically affected the routes to markets in many industries. The authors propose that these changes have led to significant alterations in how customers interact with firms and consequently to a phenomenon that we dub ‘‘channel multiplicity.’’ Channel multiplicity is characterized by the customer’s reliance on multiple sources of information from independent (and often disparate) channel organizations and increasing demand for a seamless experience throughout the buying process. The authors identify the new market operating realities driving channel multiplicity and provide an overview of the consequences for channel design and channel management: a broadened view of products and services, channel leadership challenges, alterations in channel structure, and an expanded view of distribution intensity. The authors also identify issues triggered by these developments, which calls for further research in this field. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/40034/ 2010-06-01T00:00:00Z Today, from a business and marketing perspective, vast numbers of customers and potential customers interact with one another through electronic and online channels that range from emails to social media hubs such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/19402/ 2010-05-01T00:00:00Z Neural networks applied in control loops and safety-critical domains have to meet more requirements than just the overall best function approximation. On the one hand, a small approximation error is required; on the other hand, the smoothness and the monotonicity of selected input–output relations have to be guaranteed. Otherwise, the stability of most of the control laws is lost. In this article we compare two neural network-based approaches incorporating partial monotonicity by structure, namely the Monotonic Multi-Layer Perceptron (MONMLP) network and the Monotonic MIN–MAX (MONMM) network. We show the universal approximation capabilities of both types of network for partially monotone functions. On a number of datasets, we investigate the advantages and disadvantages of these approaches related to approximation performance, training of the model and convergence. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/18675/ 2010-04-01T00:00:00Z In a viral marketing campaign, an organization develops a marketing message and encourages customers to forward this message to their contacts. Despite its increasing popularity, there are no models yet that help marketers to predict how many customers a viral marketing campaign will reach and how marketers can influence this process through marketing activities. This paper develops such a model using the theory of branching processes. The proposed viral branching model allows customers to participate in a viral marketing campaign by (1) opening a seeding e-mail from the organization, (2) opening a viral e-mail from a friend, and (3) responding to other marketing activities such as banners and offline advertising. The model parameters are estimated using individual-level data that become available in large quantities in the early stages of viral marketing campaigns. The viral branching model is applied to an actual viral marketing campaign in which over 200,000 customers participated during a six-week period. The results show that the model quickly predicts the actual reach of the campaign. In addition, the model proves to be a valuable tool to evaluate alternative what-if scenarios. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/22777/ 2009-12-01T00:00:00Z Marketing management support systems (MMSS) are computer-enabled devices that help marketers to make better decisions. Marketing processes can be quite complex, involving large numbers of variables and mostly outcomes are the results of the actions of many different stakeholders (e.g., the company itself, its customers, its competitors). Moreover, a large number of interdependencies exist between the relevant variables and the outcomes of marketing actions are subject to major uncertainties. Given the complexities of the market place, marketing management support systems are useful tools to help the marketing decision makers carry out their jobs. Marketing management support systems can only be effective when they are optimally geared towards their users. We, therefore, deal with decision making in marketing (which generates the need for marketing management support systems). We discuss how marketing decisions are made, how they should be made, and the relative roles of analytical versus intuitive cognitive processes in marketing decision-making. We also discuss the match between marketing problem-solving modes and the various types of marketing management support systems. Finally we discuss how the impact of MMSS can be improved. This is important, given the current under-utilization of MMSS in practice. We discuss the conditions for the successful implementation and effective use of marketing management support systems. The issue ends with a discussion of the opportunities and challenges for marketing management support systems as we foresee them. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/16415/ 2009-06-01T00:00:00Z Increasingly, consumers interact through the Internet to share their knowledge, experiences, and opinions. Consequently, ‘word-of-mouse’ has become a significant market force that influences consumer decision-making. On the basis of extensive quantitative and qualitative research, the authors sketch how consumers make use of virtual communities as social and information networks, and how this affects their decision-making processes. We present three studies that address (i) determinants and effects of virtual community influence on the consumer decision process; (ii) virtual community participation patterns; and (iii) discussion practices of the most active community members. Key implications for managers, marketers, and market researchers are discussed. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/16015/ 2009-05-15T00:00:00Z In a viral marketing campaign an organization develops a marketing message, and stimulates customers to forward this message to their contacts. Despite its increasing popularity, there are no models yet that help marketers to predict how many customers a viral marketing campaign will reach, and how marketers can influence this process through marketing activities. This paper develops such a model using the theory of branching processes. The proposed Viral Branching Model allows customers to participate in a viral marketing campaign by 1) opening a seeding email from the organization, 2) opening a viral email from a friend, and 3) responding to other marketing activities such as banners and offline advertising. The model parameters are estimated using individual-level data that become available in large quantities already in the early stages of viral marketing campaigns. The Viral Branching Model is applied to an actual viral marketing campaign in which over 200,000 customers participated during a six-week period. The results show that the model quickly predicts the actual reach of the campaign. In addition, the model proves to be a valuable tool to evaluate alternative what-if scenarios. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/15059/ 2008-12-01T00:00:00Z Model-based decision support systems (DSSs) improve performance in many contexts that are datarich, uncertain, and require repetitive decisions. But such DSSs are often not designed to help users understand and internalize the underlying factors driving DSS recommendations. Users then feel uncertain about DSS recommendations, leading them to possibly avoid using the system. We argue that a DSS must be designed to induce an alignment of a decision maker’s mental model with the decision model embedded in the DSS. Such an alignment requires effort from the decision maker and guidance from the DSS. We experimentally evaluate two DSS design characteristics that facilitate such alignment: (i) feedback on the upside potential for performance improvement and (ii) feedback on corrective actions to improve decisions. We show that, in tandem, these two types of DSS feedback induce decision makers to align their mental models with the decision model, a process we call deep learning, whereas individually these two types of feedback have little effect on deep learning. We also show that deep learning, in turn, improves user evaluations of the DSS. We discuss how our findings can potentially lead to DSS design improvements and better returns on DSS investments. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/15129/ 2008-01-01T00:00:00Z This chapter discusses recent advances in the field of marketing management support systems (MMSS). We start with a short history of marketing management support systems, with special attention to marketing models, the core topic of this Handbook. In Section 17.2 we describe developments which have improved the quality of MMSS and favor their use for marketing decision making in current marketing practice. Section 17.3 presents our growing know-ledge about the factors that affect the adoption and use of MMSS. In Section 17.4 we discuss developments in a new category of marketing management support systems, i.e. systems that support decision-making for weakly structured marketing problems. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/12486/ 2007-01-01T00:00:00Z CIOs van retailers beheren tegenwoordig immens grote databestanden. Deze bestanden worden niet alleen nog steeds maar groter, ze worden ook steeds meer real time. De volgende uitdaging voor retailers is het gebruik van deze informatie te bevorderen – zowel binnen de grenzen van hun organisaties, als daarbuiten liggen hiervoor kansen. In dit artikel stellen we een tot dusver onderbelichte vorm van het gebruik van de vergaarde marktinformatie centraal: het delen ervan met leveranciers. Drie vragen komen aan de orde. Ten eerste, welke marktinformatie delen retailers en leveranciers om de prestaties in hun kanaalrelaties te verhogen? Ten tweede, wat zijn de prestatieeffecten van het delen van informatie? Ten derde, in welke omstandigheden zullen retailers strategische marktinformatie delen met hun leveranciers? We sluiten af met aanbevelingen voor kanaalmanagers en voor marktonderzoekers. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/7893/ 2006-08-14T00:00:00Z Marketing managers often provide much poorer evaluations of model-based marketing decision support systems (MDSSs) than are warranted by the objective performance of those systems. We show that a reason for this discrepant evaluation may be that MDSSs are often not designed to help users understand and internalize the underlying factors driving the MDSS results and related recommendations. Thus, there is likely to be a gap between a marketing manager’s mental model and the decision model embedded in the MDSS. We suggest that this gap is an important reason for the poor subjective evaluations of MDSSs, even when the MDSSs are of high objective quality, ultimately resulting in unreasonably low levels of MDSS adoption and use. We propose that to have impact, an MDSS should not only be of high objective quality, but should also help reduce any mental model-MDSS model gap. We evaluate two design characteristics that together lead model-users to update their mental models and reduce the mental model-MDSS gap, resulting in better MDSS evaluations: providing feedback on the upside potential for performance improvement and providing specific suggestions for corrective actions to better align the user's mental model with the MDSS. We hypothesize that, in tandem, these two types of MDSS feedback induce marketing managers to update their mental models, a process we call deep learning, whereas individually, these two types of feedback will have much smaller effects on deep learning. We validate our framework in an experimental setting, using a realistic MDSS in the context of a direct marketing decision problem. We then discuss how our findings can lead to design improvements and better returns on investments in MDSSs such as CRM systems, Revenue Management systems, pricing decision support systems, and the like. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/7840/ 2006-06-23T00:00:00Z We study the performance of Virtual Stock Markets (VSMs) in an institutional forecasting environment. We compare VSMs to the Combined Judgmental Forecast (CJF) and the Key Informant (KI) approach. We find that VSMs can be effectively applied in an environment with a small number of knowledgeable informants, i.e., in thin markets. Our results show that none of the three approaches differ in forecasting accuracy in a low knowledge-heterogeneity environment. However, where there is high knowledge-heterogeneity, the VSM approach outperforms the CJF approach, which in turn outperforms the KI approach. Hence, our results provide useful insight into when each of the three approaches might be most effectively applied. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/12489/ 2006-01-01T00:00:00Z Consumenten leggen steeds vaker contact met elkaar via het Internet. Elektronische discussieforums, mededelingenborden, nieuwsgroepen, e-maillijsten, chatrooms en weblogs bieden consumenten, waar dan ook ter wereld, de mogelijkheid om hun kennis, ervaringen en meningen te delen. De populariteit van deze elektronische contacten tussen consumenten blijkt uit de grote hoeveelheid virtuele communities die georganiseerd zijn rondom consumptiegerelateerde interesses. Dit soort communities vertegenwoordigen uitgebreide netwerken van consumptiekennis en kameraadschap die invloed hebben op consumentengedrag. In dit artikel gaan we in op een aantal nieuwe inzichten ten aanzien van virtuele communities die managers, marketeers en marktonderzoekers beter in staat stellen om strategisch gebruik te maken van de vele mogelijkheden die nu nog vaak onbenut worden gelaten. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/12584/ 2006-01-01T00:00:00Z Marketing decision makers are responsible for the design and execution of marketing programs for products or brands. They operate under different names, such as product manager, brand manager, marketing manager, marketing director, or commercial director. They choose the target markets and segments for their products and services and develop and implement marketing mixes. Because of the proliferation of products and brands, the fragmentation of markets in an ever growing number of different segments, the fierceness of competition, and the overall acceleration of change, marketing decisions are becoming increasingly complex. Furthermore, decisions have to be made under increasing time pressure. Product life cycles are getting shorter, and competition occurs not only within countries but also increasingly at an international and even global level. New markets are rapidly opening up, existing markets are being deregulated, and new distribution channels such as the Internet have developed. The question now is, how can these decision makers be supported to become more effective? http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/6909/ 2005-09-08T00:00:00Z The individual impact of CRM systems is strongly related to impact at the organizational level. Fit with the task of the user is key. CRM systems are successful in organizations that reward customer-centric behavior and that have an analytical decision style. Acceptance of a CRM system should be monitored over time. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/15062/ 2005-06-01T00:00:00Z This paper addresses the question of how distributors' channel function performance affects their relationships with organizational customers and how the impact of these actions on relationship quality is influenced by the interdependence structure of the relationship. We test our hypotheses using survey data collected from informants in the Netherlands and Belgium. Our primary finding is that the level of channel function performance by a distributor is a significant driver of customer perceptions of relationship quality. This relationship is moderated by the interdependence structure of the customer–distributor dyad, both in terms of total interdependence as well as relative customer dependence. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/15060/ 2005-03-29T00:00:00Z During the past decade, customers have become familiar with using various interface technologies, such as Web sites and wireless devices, to interact with firms. Increasingly, they choose the times and the channels through which they deal with firms for different aspects of their interactions. It is becoming common for customers to use different channels at different stages of their decision-and-shopping cycles, for example, using Web sites to obtain information but making purchases offline; in the past they typically obtained all their channel services from a single integrated channel at all stages of their decision process. We refer to customers who use more than one channel to interact with firms as multichannel customers, and marketing strategies to reach such customers as multichannel marketing. According to a study by Doubleclick (2004), the incidence of multichannel shopping among online shoppers increased from 56% to 65% between the 2002 and 2003 holiday seasons. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/12125/ 2005-01-01T00:00:00Z This study investigates the effect of corporate brand dominance--that is, the visibility of a company's corporate brand in product communications--on the relationship between corporate associations and product evaluations. The results show that corporate brand dominance determines the degree to which associations with the company's corporate ability and corporate social responsibility influence product attitudes, as well as the nature of the moderating effects of fit and involvement. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/2665/ 2004-09-01T00:00:00Z We study the process by which model-based Decision Support Systems (DSSs) influence managerial decision making in the context of marketing budgeting and resource allocation. We focus on identifying whether and how DSSs influence the decision process (e.g., cognitive effort deployed, discussion quality, and decision alternatives considered), and as a result, how these DSSs influence decision outcomes (e.g., profit and satisfaction both with the decision process and the outcome). We study two specific marketing resource allocation decisions in a laboratory context: sales effort allocation and customer targeting. We find that decision makers who use high-quality model-based DSSs make objectively better decisions than do decision makers who only have access to a generic decision tool (Microsoft Excel). However, their subjective evaluations (perceptions) of both their decisions and the processes that lead to those decisions do not necessarily improve as a result of DSS use. And expert judges, serving as surrogates for top management, have a difficult time assessing the objective quality of those decisions. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/2666/ 2003-01-01T00:00:00Z This paper develops a management judgment tool to predict the effectiveness of a corporate advertising campaign (CAC). With this instrument, IMPACT, the effectiveness of CACs can be predicted by obtaining the reactions of internal stakeholders of a company towards the campaign. Using the instrument, CACs will be assessed on three criteria: creativity, professionalism and consistency. The exploratory empirical studies show that in order to educate stakeholders, CACs should score high on professionalism. For changing attitudes, creativity is important. Finally, to change behaviour both the professionalism and the consistency of the campaign are important. Future research should validate the exploratory findings reported in this paper. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/2667/ 2002-11-01T00:00:00Z Organizational research frequently involves seeking judgmental response data from informants within organizations. This article discusses why using multiple informants improves the quality of response data and thereby the validity of research findings. The authors show that when there are multiple informants who disagree, responses aggregated with confidence- or competence-based weights outperform those with response data-based weights, which in turn provide significant gains in estimation accuracy over simply averaging informant reports. The proposed methods are effective, inexpensive, and easy to use in organizational marketing research http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/228/ 2002-09-17T00:00:00Z Does sharing market information help channel partners to build stronger mutual relationships? Is low initial trust really an impediment for further relationship development by means of information sharing? How do connections with other competing channel partners affect the relationship building process? To address these questions, we conducted an experimental study. Our findings show that retailer information sharing helps to develop higher quality supplier relationships. Interestingly, even if the initial level of trust in the retailer is low, the relationship quality substantially improves. In a more competitive situation the suppliers respond more favorably to the retailer?s information-sharing initiative. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/192/ 2002-04-17T00:00:00Z This study shows that different types of associations regarding a company have different effects on customers' product evaluations. Associations with a company's ability influenced quality perceptions of products marketed by the company's subsidiaries, but not intentions to actually buy those products. In contrast, corporate social responsibility associations influenced product purchase intentions, but not quality perceptions. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/2669/ 2002-02-01T00:00:00Z New developments in marketing management support systems (MMSSs) have provided the marketer with a growing supply of tools that can enrich decision making. In this paper, we describe the concept of marketing engineering — an approach to solving marketing decision problems — popularized by Lilien and Rangaswamy [Lilien GL,Rangaswamy A. Marketing engineering: computer-assisted marketing analysis and planning. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 1998.]. We describe how marketing engineering harnesses marketing data and knowledge to facilitate decision making. We provide several illustrations of the successful application of the marketing engineering concept. We also summarize developments that we believe will further encourage the adoption of the marketing engineering concept and tools for both teaching about marketing decision making, and for improving the practice of marketing decision making. We conclude with some challenges for the academic research community. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/15133/ 2002-01-01T00:00:00Z Describes the Strategy, Internal organization, Driving forces, External prestige and Corporate branding strategy (SIDEC) model that suggests under which conditions business unit managers must be willing to support a uniform corporate branding strategy. Role of business managers in the decision-making involved in corporate branding; Information on corporate brand endorsement models; Features of the SIDEC model. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/2668/ 2002-01-01T00:00:00Z Describes the Strategy, Internal organization, Driving forces, External prestige and Corporate branding strategy (SIDEC) model that suggests under which conditions business unit managers must be willing to support a uniform corporate branding strategy. Role of business managers in the decision-making involved in corporate branding; Information on corporate brand endorsement models; Features of the SIDEC model. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/341/ 2001-10-12T00:00:00Z In this paper we describe three types of applications of information technology in marketing. These are (1) applications that focus on improving the efficiency of marketing processes; (2) applications that focus on improving the effectiveness of marketing management; and (3) applications that improve the strategic position of organizations within a marketing channel. The application of information technology has led to the availability of large amounts of marketing information. Through the use of marketing management support systems, this information can be used effectively. By sharing marketing information with channel partners through inter-organisational information systems, information can be used innovatively as well. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/107/ 2001-08-06T00:00:00Z Distributors, across sectors and countries, are faced by the threat of disintermediation. In many industries, horizontal consolidation and advances in information technology have made it easier for manufacturers to bypass distributors and do business directly with consumers. Distributors have responded to this threat or other destructive acts in a number of different ways that can be represented through Hirschman's (1970) Exit-Voice-Loyalty framework. One additional response that distributors frequently adopt is developing countervailing power through dependence-balancing actions. These actions are designed to strengthen bonds with customers and often manifest themselves in the provision of improved channel services to customers. Does this strategy work? We seek to address this in our paper. Specifically, we examine the nature and magnitude of the direct and interactive effects of (a) the performance of marketing functions and services by a distributor and (b) the dependence structure of its relationship with its customers on different dimensions of relationship quality - satisfaction, trust, commitment and conflict. Of particular interest to us is the effect of functional performance on relationship quality in situations characterized by high relative dependence of the distributor on the customer - this closely approximates the situation that many distributors, faced by the threat of disintermediation, find themselves in. Hypotheses from our model are tested using data collected from the paint industry in the Netherlands and Belgium. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/94/ 2001-06-08T00:00:00Z We study how and why model-based Decision Support Systems (DSSs) influence managerial decision making, in the context of marketing budgeting and resource allocation. We consider several questions: (1) What does it mean for a DSS to be "good?"; (2) What is the relationship between an anchor or reference condition, DSS-supported recommendation and decision quality? (3) How does a DSS influence the decision process, and how does the process influence outcomes? (4) Is the effect of the DSS on the decision process and outcome robust, or context specific? We test hypotheses about the effects of DSSs in a controlled experiment with two award winning DSSs and find that, (1) DSSs improve users' objective decision outcomes (an index of likely realized revenue or profit); (2) DSS users often do not report enhanced subjective perceptions of outcomes; (3) DSSs, that provide feedback in the form of specific recommendations and their associated projected benefits had a stronger effect both on the decision making process and on the outcomes. Our results suggest that although managers actually achieve improved outcomes from DSS use, they may not perceive that the DSS has improved the outcomes. Therefore, there may be limited interest in managerial uses of DSSs, unless they are designed to: (1) encourage discussion (e.g., by providing explanations and support for the recommendations), (2) provide feedback to users on likely marketplace results, and (3) help reduce the perceived complexity of the problem so that managers will consider more alternatives and invest more cognitive effort in searching for improved outcomes. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/2672/ 2001-06-01T00:00:00Z This study investigates the impact of management support systems (MSS) on managerial decision-making. We hypothesize that the success of MSS depends on the extent to which they match with the problem-solving modes that are employed by managerial decision-makers. A problem-solving mode is a cognitive model that characterizes the problem-solving process of a manager. We test our hypothesis in the field of marketing by analyzing data of 38 management support systems. The results confirm our hypothesis implying that a demand-oriented approach to the design and implementation of management support systems is important for these systems to be successful. The demand-side perspective on management support systems developed in this paper offers help in analyzing and removing discrepancies between the demand and supply of decision support. Doing so will improve the impact of these systems. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/2670/ 2001-01-01T00:00:00Z Working with brand managers at Holland Fast Moving Company (HFMC), we designed a marketing-management-support system, BRANDFRAME. In conducting the project, we (1) examined the decision situation; (2) examined the existing marketing-management-support system; (3) determined what type of decision support best fits the tasks of the brand managers; (4) developed and implemented the software; (5) obtained feedback from the managers who worked with the software; and (6) adapted and extended the system. BRANDFRAME contains a combination of academic and practical knowledge and integrates all the information needed by the brand manager in one system. The system does not replace the brand manager but, in an interactive way, acts as a sparring partner. The system was very well received by the managers who worked with it and has shown that customizing decision-support systems for specific marketing jobs (in this case, the brand manager) may well be an important factor for the success of marketing-management-support systems. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/2671/ 2001-01-01T00:00:00Z Conceptualizes the impact of information technology on marketing decision making. Argues that developments in information technology affect the performance of marketing decision-makers through different routes. Advances in information technology enhance the possibilities of collecting data and of generating information for supporting marketing decision making. Potentially, this will have a positive impact on decision-making performance. Managerial expertise will favor the transformation of data into market insights. However, as the cognitive capabilities of marketing managers are limited, increasing amounts of data may also increase the complexity of the decision-making context. In turn, increased complexity enhances the probability of biased decision processes, thereby negatively affecting decision-making performance. Marketing management support systems, also being the result of advances in information technology, are tools that can help marketers to benefit from the data explosion. The analysis leads to the expectation that the combination of marketing data, managerial judgment, and marketing management support systems will be a powerful factor for improving marketing management. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/42/ 2000-08-25T00:00:00Z In this paper we conceptualize the impact of information technology on marketing decision-making. We argue that developments in information technology affect the performance of marketing decision-makers through different routes. Advances in information technology enhance the possibilities to collect data and to generate information for supporting marketing decision-making. Potentially, this will have a positive impact on decision-making performance. Managerial expertise will favor the transformation of data into market insights. However, as the cognitive capabilities of marketing managers are limited, increasing amounts of data may also increase the complexity of the decision-making context. In turn, increased complexity enhances the probability of biased decision processes (e.g., the inappropriate use of heuristics) thereby negatively affecting decision-making performance. Marketing management support systems, also being the result of advances in information technology, are tools that can help marketers to benefit from the data explosion. These systems are able to increase the value of data and, at the same time, make decision-makers less vulnerable to biased decision processes. Our analysis leads to the expectation that the combination of marketing data, managerial judgment, and marketing management support systems will be a powerful factor for improving marketing management. Implications of our analysis are discussed. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/41/ 2000-08-22T00:00:00Z Organizational research frequently involves seeking judgmental data from multiple informants within organizations. Researchers are often faced with determining how many informants to survey, who those informants should be and (if more than one) how best to aggregate responses when disagreement exists between those responses. Using both recall and forecasting data from a laboratory study involving the MARKSTRAT simulation, we show that when there are multiple respondents who disagree, responses aggregated using confidence-based or competence-based weights outperform those with data-based weights, which in turn provide significant gains in estimation accuracy over simply averaging respondent reports. We then illustrate how these results can be used to determine the best number of respondents for a market research task as well as to provide an effective screening mechanism when seeking a single, best informant. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/15165/ 2000-01-01T00:00:00Z In dit artikel beschrijven we de ontwikkelingen op het gebied van marketing management support systemen (MMSS). We bespreken eerst de vier componenten van een MMSS: informatie technologie, analytische technieken, marketing data en marketing kennis. Hiema beschrijven we acht specifieke types marketing management support systemen die marketers kunnen gebruiken voor de ondersteuning van hun marketing beslissingen. We starten met een beschrijving van marketing modellen die in de vroege jaren '60 ontwikkeld werden en eindigen met een beschrijving van marketing creativiteit support systemen die van recente oorsprong zijn. Vervolgens presenteren we een overzicht van het gebruik van MMSS in bedrijven in Nederland en van de bijdragen aan het Jaarboek op het gebied van MMSS. We sluiten het artikel af met een model dat de factoren beschrijft die het succes van marketing management support systemen bemvloeden. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/2673/ 2000-01-01T00:00:00Z Marketing models are of invaluable importance for the advancement of marketing science. Regarding the role of models in marketing decision-making in practice we question the claim that marketing models are routinely used by many companies. Marketing models are suitable for certain types of marketing decision situations but much less for others. We advocate the development of integrated marketing management support systems (MMSSs), in which the strong points of marketing models are combined with the strengths of other types of MMSSs. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/2674/ 2000-01-01T00:00:00Z http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/12589/ 1999-01-01T00:00:00Z Marketing managers are exposed to an ever-growing stream of information about the markets they are operating in and the performance of their products. In the Electronic Era the supply of data has exploded and marketing management support systems are needed to transform this data into actionable knowledge. This paper deals with the nature of marketing management support systems (MMSS) and the different types of MMSS that are available. Also a marketing management support recommender is presented that can help to find the most appropriate type(s) of MMSS for a given decision situation. Finally, we discuss the future of marketing management support systems in the perspective of relevant developments in leT and of the changes in the environment of the marketing decision maker. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/12590/ 1999-01-01T00:00:00Z Het bedrijfsproces marketing maakt op dit moment een snel proces van informatisering door en bedrijven investeren grote bedragen in zogenaamde marketingmanagement supportsystemen. Er komen steeds meer data beschikbaar over markten, klanten en concurrenten en het is van strategisch belang om hieruit de voor het marketing management relevante kennis te extraheren. Marketingmanagement supportsystemen moeten op zorgvuldige wijze worden ontworpen, zodat die functionaliteit wordt gekozen welke aansluit bij het soort beslissingen en de beslissingsomgeving waarvoor de systemen zijn bestemd. In dit artikel wordt een beknopte bespreking gegeven van de belangrijkste typen marketingmanagement supportsystemen en het soort toepassingen waarvoor deze worden gebruikt. Daarnaast wordt ingegaan op factoren die kritisch zijn voor succesvolle marketing management supportsystemen in bedrijven en de te verwachten ontwikkelingen op dit gebied. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/2675/ 1999-01-01T00:00:00Z This paper provides an introduction to this Special Issue by a) providing a framework for evaluating the potential and actual success of marketing management support systems (MMSS), and b) briefly discussing how each paper in this Special Issue addresses the general topic of managerial decision making. The paperconcludes by outlining some key questions that still need to be addressed. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/15170/ 1998-05-01T00:00:00Z Internet biedt de mogelijkheid voor andere distributievormen, maar moet deze keuze niet voorschrijven. Ieder bedrijf zal zich moeten beraden op zijn strategische positie. Afhankelijkheidsverhoudingen spelen daarbij een belangrijke rol, meent Gerrit van Bruggen. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/12601/ 1998-01-01T00:00:00Z Nadat eerst kort de complexiteit van de marketing-beslissingssituatie is geschetst, wordt in dit artikel een omschrijving gegeven van zogenaamde beslissingsondersteuningssystemen die een belangrijk hulpmiddel kunnen zijn bij een analytische benadering van marketingbeslissingen. Het artikel laat zien hoe in deze systemen marketingmodellen en marketinginformatiesystemen met elkaar worden geintegreerd, en gaat in op diverse aspecten, zoals het onderscheid in systemen voor strategische versus operationele beslissingen, kwantificering van modellen etc., en geeft een indeling van bestaande modellen. Er worden een aantal concrete ervaringen met deze beslissingsondersteuningssystemen vermeld en het artikel eindigt met een beschouwing over implementatie en de rol die de marktonderzoeker daarin kan spelen. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/2676/ 1998-01-01T00:00:00Z Marketing decision makers are confronted with an increasing amount of information. This leads to a complex decision environment that may cause decision makers to lapse into using mental-effort-reducing heuristics such as anchoring and adjustment. In an experimental study, we find that the use of a marketing decision support system (MDSS) increases the effectiveness of marketing decision makers. An MDSS is effective because it assists its users in identifying the important decision variables and, subsequently, making better decisions based on those variables. Decision makers using an MDSS are also less susceptible to applying the anchoring and adjustment heuristic and, therefore, show more variation in their decisions in a dynamic environment. Low-analytical decision makers and decision makers operating under low time pressure especially benefit from using an MDSS. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/2677/ 1998-01-01T00:00:00Z Creativity support systems (CSS) aim at enhancing the creativity of users. There is an emerging stream of research in which the effects of CSS on the creative output of respondents are measured. In this research, it is important to make a clear distinction between the dependent variable, creative output, and the independent variable use of CSS. Furthermore, the research design should take the potential effect of other factors on creative output into account, most notably, creative ability as a trait of the respondents. An experimental study on the value of creativity support systems was recently reported in MIS Quarterly (Massetti 1996). That study yielded interesting insights with respect to the value of CSS. However, because of the methodology applied in analyzing the data, the study underestimated the effects of CSS on the creative output of decision makers. In this note, Massetti's experiment is positioned in the broader perspective of current research in the area of CSS, and an alternative framework for analyzing the data is proposed. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/2662/ 1997-01-01T00:00:00Z http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/2663/ 1997-01-01T00:00:00Z Focuses on the issue of problem solving in marketing and develops a classification of marketing problem-solving modes (MPSMs). Typology of MPSMs; Relationship among MPSMs; Marketing management support systems. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/6438/ 1997-01-01T00:00:00Z http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/2664/ 1996-10-01T00:00:00Z In this paper we present the results of an experimental study of the impact of the quality of a marketing decision support system (MDSS). The experiment was conducted in the MARKSTRAT environment. The quality of an MDSS was operationalized as the predictive precision of its simulation models. The results show that marketing decision-makers using a high-quality MDSS outperform marketing decision-makers using a medium-quality MDSS. The superior performance with the high-quality MDSS was obtained for both low and high time-pressure. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/18109/ 1995-01-01T00:00:00Z A Marketing Management Support Systems can be defined as any device combining (i) information technology, (ii) marketing data and/ or knowledge, and (iii) analytical capabilities, made available to one or more marketing decision-makers with the objective to improve the quality of marketing decision-making. In this paper we present a categorization scheme for marketing management support systems. Three types of MMSS, developed so far, can be identified: marketing information systems, marketing decision support systems and marketing knowledge-based systems. Each of these systems emphasize different components. Next, we focus on the factors affecting adoption of and satisfaction with MMSS. The outcomes are presented of a large scale study carried out in the Netherlands among 525 companies. In the third part of the paper we answer the question whether MMSS improve the effectiveness of marketing decision-makers and, if so, under which conditions. For this purpose we present the results of an experimental laboratory study in which XOreal life marketing managers and 160 marketing students participated. We conclude the paper with a discussion of the perspectives for Marketing Management Support Systems. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/12520/ 1994-05-01T00:00:00Z Verhoogt het gebruik van marketing management support systemen de kwaliteit van marketingbeslissingen? En zo ja, onder welke omstandigheden? Aan de hand van een experimenteel laboratoriumonderzoek met het simulatiespel MARKSTRATonder 80 marketing managers en 160 studenten, kan de eerste vraag positief worden beantwoord. Omstandigheden als tijdsdruk, ervaring in het nemen van marketingbeslissingen en de analytische capaciteiten van de gebruikers vormen een belangrijk aandachtspunt als het gaat om de implementatie en de kostenlbaten-afweging bij de aanschaf van een systeem. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/14376/ 1993-01-01T00:00:00Z http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/12522/ 1992-04-01T00:00:00Z Cijfertjes kunnen de marketeer nooit vervangen. Ervaring, kennis, en intuitie zijn immers niet weg te denken vaardigheden in de marketing. Marketing Management Support Systemen doen dan ook geenszins afbreuk aan de kennis, ervaring en intuitie van de marketeer. Integendeel zelfs betogen B. Wierenga en G. H. van Bruggen. Met MMSS kunnen deze vaardigheden juist optimaal tot hun recht komen. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/12523/ 1992-01-01T00:00:00Z