Exploring the elements that constitute the perceived luxuriousness of a brand, this book addresses the changing definitions of the term 'luxury' in today's world. Taking the approach that the concept of luxury evolves from the consumer, the author introduces a conceptual model which explains how the consumer interprets the luxuriousness of a brand. This innovative study analyses the key elements that influence luxury branding, such as extended product, perceived uniqueness, authenticity and context specificity. By critically reflecting on the existing definitions of luxury and its challenges, this book makes a unique contribution to research and an essential read for marketing students and scholars.

This book takes a fresh look at pricing, product differentiation and the need for decommoditisation in market sectors where products and services are standardised and interchangeable. In the first chapters the book explains what commodities are, and puts them into a historical perspective to promote an understanding of their production and its effects. From this baseline the book then presents a case study on how decommoditisation has progressed within the energy industry. Building on this case study and learnings from other sectors, it develops a theoretical framework, characterising the processes and mechanisms observed to be extended towards different industries. This framework is then utilised in the following chapters as a model to explain the progression of decommoditisation, and to examine other sectors through this lens. To conclude, the book presents the implications for stakeholders and suggestions on how to respond to them from a policy and business standpoint. In a final chapter the book develops an outlook on current trends and possible alternative pathways, and summarizes the main takeaways for management professionals and policymakers alike.

Over the past four decades, business and academic economists, operations researchers, marketing scientists, and consulting firms have increased their interest and research on pricing and revenue management. This book attempts to introduce the reader to a wide variety of their research results on pricing techniques in a unified, systematic way and at varying levels of difficulty. The book contains a large number of exercises and solutions and therefore can serve as a main or supplementary course textbook, as well as a reference guidebook for pricing consultants, managers, industrial engineers, and writers of pricing software applications. Despite a moderate technical orientation, the book is accessible to readers with a limited knowledge in these fields as well as to readers who have had more training in economics. Most pricing models are first demonstrated by numerical and calculus-free examples and then extended for more technically-oriented readers.

This book explores how spirituality and resiliency defines the character of African women and inspires them to serve the communities and organizations around them. Through portraits of twelve Malawian women national leaders, it celebrates the lives of indigenous women and describes how their unique backgrounds and experiences have contributed to their leadership development. It provides an understanding of the strategies these women employ to move beyond historical barriers to exercise leadership. The author introduces a new leadership model called transformative engaging leadership, which demonstrates how African women leaders use their inner strength to thrive and succeed in the midst of challenges. It contributes to African female leadership studies and will be helpful to leaders and organizations that have a passion for advancing female leaders in the developing world.

Pride/Ferrell's MARKETING, 21st Edition, helps students develop the knowledge and decision-making skills necessary to succeed in today's competitive business environment through its visually engaging and reader-friendly presentation of essential marketing concepts and strategies.

Expanded coverage of business markets and buying behavior, marketing channels and supply chain management, retailing, personal selling and marketing analytics as well as practical applications and real-world examples enhance students' understanding.

The market environment is changing rapidly. Prior to scanner data, ACNielsen, the major supplier of information on brand performances, said its business was to provide the score but not to explain or predict it. Now, model-based insights are not only demanded by managers, but can also be meaningfully provided. It is common for managers in many countries to receive market feedback frequently, quickly and in great detail due to the use of scanners and computers. With advances in information technology and expertise in modeling, IRI introduced model-based services in the US that explain and predict essential parts of the marketplace. ACNielsen followed, and marketing researchers have been developing increasingly valid, useful and relevant models of marketplace behavior ever since. Models that provide information about the sensitivity of market behavior to marketing activities such as advertising, pricing, promotions and distribution are now routinely used by managers for the identification of changes in marketing programs that can improve brand performances. Building Models for Marketing Decisions describes marketing models that managers can use as an aid in decision making. It has long been known that even simple models outperform judgments in predicting outcomes in a wide variety of contexts. More complex models potentially provide insights about structural relations not available from casual observations. Although marketing models are now widely accepted, the quality of the marketing decisions is critically dependent upon the quality of the models on which those decisions are based. In this book, which is a revision and expansion of Naert and Leeflang's Building Implementable Marketing Models (1978), the authors discuss in detail the model-building process. They distinguish four parts in this process: specification, estimation, validation and use of models. Throughout the book, the authors provide examples and illustrations. This book will be of interest to researchers, analysts, managers and students who want to understand, develop or use models of marketing phenomena.

A new sub-area of marketing is emerging called neuromarketing. It combines psychology, neuroscience, and economics with the study of consumer motivations. This is leading to the creation of new technological approaches that enable companies to read the customer's mind and tailor marketing practices, products, and services. Neuromarketing and Big Data Analytics for Strategic Consumer Engagement: Emerging Research and Opportunities provides emerging information on the issues involved in the field of neuromarketing, including models, technologies, and the methodology of this field. Highlighting the intricacies of neuroscience, biometrics, multimedia technology, marketing strategy, and big data management, this book is an ideal resource for researchers, neuroscientists, marketers, suppliers, customers, and investors seeking current research on the integration of new neuromarketing trends and technologies.

In "Eccentric Marketing," marketing strategist and entrepreneur Said A. Baaghil outlines the framework for a forward-thinking new consumer model aimed at transforming the way products and services are marketed in the Middle East. Baaghil illustrates how modern-day CEOs of Middle Eastern corporations must radically alter their traditional marketing programs in order to survive the new global economy.

Using real-world examples, "Eccentric Marketing" analyzes the marketing failures and successes of companies operating in the Middle East and makes a convincing argument about their vital need to implement consumer-based marketing. Baaghil also demonstrates how many common character faults of Middle Eastern CEOs can not only damage a brand, but ultimately lead to its complete demise.

"Eccentric Marketing" details the current market reality for small- to medium-sized companies in the Middle East and explains why most of these companies fail when promoting their products in the Western world. Drawing from actual business cases in Saudi Arabia, Baaghil proves that companies must learn how to instill their brand permanently in the consumer consciousness in order to survive and thrive.

Baaghil's visionary concepts for building and integrating a powerful brand make "Eccentric Marketing" the must-have marketing guide for leading-edge companies operating in the Middle East.

This book emphasizes the need for new directions and approaches for social and economic development in the emerging nations of the Asia-Pacific region through the use of Smart Technologies. It takes a holistic view of socio-economic and technical developments taking place through ASEAN and South Asia. Compared to practices in the 20th century, the use of Smart Technologies is likely to have a faster and greater impact on emerging nations (Smart Nations). Smart Technologies for Smart Nations: Perspectives from the Asia-Pacific Region is core reading for academics, professionals, and policymakers interested in technological developments in ASEAN and South Asia.

The Five Best Practices of Highly Effective Sales Managers is a book for new as well as experienced Sales Managers. It focuses on five best practices that result in highly effective and efficient sales team which achieve the desired levels of sales volume, profits and growth necessary for a successful organization. The single most important factor for improving a sales person's performance, as found by a major university study, is effective supervisory leadership. Filled with real-life sales management examples and anecdotes, the book shows sales managers how to use an effective supervisory leadership process to achieve high salesperson productivity. The book discusses the foundational attitude of highly effective sales managers then presents the five best practices that enable sales managers to answer the question, "How do I tap the full potential of each of my salespeople?"

The industrial development of emerging markets has been a powerful driver for mergers and acquisitions. The contributions collected in this book assess major M&A deals in the largest emerging capital markets (Brazil, Russia, India, China) and their role in shareholder value creation in the markets' specific business environments. In addition, the book explores various dimensions of M&A deals in order to summarize the main trends in corporate control markets in the largest emerging countries, and how they differ from those in developed countries; to identify deal-performance relationships and the determinants of success or failure; to reveal the drivers for the premium in M&A deals; and to capture market responses to different M&A strategies. By doing so, the book makes a significant contribution to the literature, which has to date largely focused on developed markets.

The Encyclopedia of Selling Cars is the complete "How to" be successful guide for the auotomobile industry and sales in general. Everything from mindset techniques to the step by step processes of professional selling is covered. Ted Lindsay brings to you a simple yet dynamic "How to" based on his hands on 34 years of experience observing and taking notes on what makes the most successful, successful. Get ready to learn and grow both personally and professionally. It's fun to read. You'll have a blast as you gain the knowledge that can enable you to become a true sales professional. Let's get going.

Using various research methodologies, such as reviews, case studies, analytical modeling and empirical studies, this book investigates luxury fashion retail management and provides relevant insights, which are beneficial to both industrialists and academics. Readers gain an understanding of luxury fashion retailing, including proper operations and strategic management, which now are the most crucial items on the luxury fashion industry's senior management agenda.

The second volume of this research monograph describes a number of applications of Artificial Intelligence in the field of Customer Relationship Management with the focus of solving customer problems. We design a system that tries to understand the customer complaint, his mood, and what can be done to resolve an issue with the product or service. To solve a customer problem efficiently, we maintain a dialogue with the customer so that the problem can be clarified and multiple ways to fix it can be sought. We introduce dialogue management based on discourse analysis: a systematic linguistic way to handle the thought process of the author of the content to be delivered. We analyze user sentiments and personal traits to tailor dialogue management to individual customers. We also design a number of dialogue scenarios for CRM with replies following certain patterns and propose virtual and social dialogues for various modalities of communication with a customer. After we learn to detect fake content, deception and hypocrisy, we examine the domain of customer complaints. We simulate mental states, attitudes and emotions of a complainant and try to predict his behavior. Having suggested graph-based formal representations of complaint scenarios, we machine-learn them to identify the best action the customer support organization can chose to retain the complainant as a customer.

Legal and economic regulation now affects virtually every aspect of the modern business environment, particularly the broad range of responsibilities that fall within the domain of marketing. Because of the complexity of the regulatory framework, marketing executives may depend heavily on legal specialists for guidance concerning laws and regulations that affect their company's operations. This book provides marketing planners and managers with both the basics and the specifics needed for effective decision making in this area. Based on the author's expertise and first-hand experience in the business regulatory field, "Legal and Economic Regulation in Marketing" will enable the marketing executive to assess the potential impact of laws and government regulations and thus avoid administrative tie-ups and costly mistakes.

Following a discussion of the goals of marketing organization, Werner looks at how existing federal laws condition and control the environment in which executives carry out marketing functions. He next examines the legal regulation of specific marketing operations, including pricing, methods of distribution, promotion and product characteristics, and procedures affecting marketing. In addition to describing the relevant statutes and agency standards, Professor Werner explains the implications of specific court decisions and administrative rulings. The author concludes with shrewd speculation on future trends in legal and regulatory controls and how these will affect marketing decision making and the business environment as a whole. An invaluable resource for the executives or students of marketing, this volume offers clear, practical guidance on functioning within the legal and regulatory constraints of the modern marketplace.

This book uses case studies to discuss consumer awareness of and education on sustainable fashion. It highlights how some textile brands have started using consumer awareness tags to educate consumers on the use of their products (e.g. which machine cycle and temperature they should use to wash their products, as well as the best drying conditions in terms of environmental sustainability). Consumer awareness of and knowledge on sustainable fashion is the crux of customer-centric sustainability, and several NGOs and even brands have started taking essential steps to promote this.

This is an essential resource for managers and scholars interested in services marketing. It covers the topic comprehensively and in novel ways. All the luminaries in the field are represented. Buy this book and you will be up to date on the field.' - Valarie Zeithaml, UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School, USThe Handbook of Service Marketing Research brings together an all-star team of leading researchers in service marketing to explore many of the hottest topics in service marketing today. Cutting-edge topics include: customer relationships and loyalty, customer-centered metrics, managing customer contacts, product and pricing, digital service marketing, rethinking the marketing function, and service for society. This book, which includes authors from both academia and industry, will provide academics with an invaluable current view of the field and practitioners with a window into the latest academic thinking. With chapters from internationally renowned contributors, this comprehensive yet concise Handbook will appeal to service marketing academics, researchers and service practitioners. Contributors: M. Archpru Akaka, L. Aksoy, L. Anderson, T.W. Andreassen, S.F.M. Beckers, M.J. Bitner, R.N. Bolton, A. Buoye, J.W. Choi, R.M. Christopher, T.S. Chung, T.S. Dagger, P.S. Danaher, A. De Keyser, C. Dev, B. Edvardsson, S. Fay, R.P. Fisk, C. Frennea, A. Gustafsson, M.-H. Huang, C. Ishida, P.K. Kannan, T.L. Keiningham, P. Kristensson, V. Kumar, S.K. Kwan, T. van Laer, B. Lariviere, R.F. Lusch, D. Mathras, H. Melton, V. Mittal, R.L. Oliver, A.L. Ostrom, P. Patterson, W. Reinartz, H. Risselada, R.T. Rust, K. de Ruyter, C. Schulze, S.M. Shugan, B. Skiera, J. Spohrer, S. Streukens, S.A. Taylor, B. Tronvoll, W. Ulaga, N. Umashankar, S.L. Vargo, P.C. Verhoef, H.S. Wang, M. Wedel, R.A. Westbrook, L. Williams, L. Witell, J. Xie, T. Yu

Strategy and Management of Industrial Brands is the first book devoted to business-to-business products and services.

Looking at numerous companies, this book defines two brand objectives that are specific to the industrial and service sectors and which must be added to the traditional functions of branding: the minimization of risk as perceived by buyers, and the facilitation of the customer company's performance by the supplier brand.

Different ways of classifying brands are suggested, providing a better understanding of brand strategies adopted by business-to-business companies, as well as new concepts such as brand printability', visibility', and purchaseability'.
Five major brand categories are dealt with in separate chapters:
-entering goods brands;
-intermediary equipment goods brands;
-equipment goods brands;
-business-to-business service brands; and
-industrial distributor brands.

From a practical point of view, the aim of the book is to address the main concerns of managers: How to create and protect brands? What type of visual identity is appropriate? How to manage international brands?
An analysis of 1,500 industrial brands as well as 40 case studies are included in this book. These brands are used in both the industrial (automotive, building, aeronautics, IT, etc.) and consumer sectors (clothing, electronics, food packaging, telecommunications, etc.).

This book has been written for professors and students of universities and business schools, as well as managers and people working in industry or the service sector.

This book aims to contribute to the literature and aid in developing a theoretical and practical framework in the area of health and wellness tourism. With contributions and research from different countries using a practical approach, this book is an essential source for students, researchers and managers in the health and wellness tourism industry. Recently, there has been an increased interest in health and wellness due to greater life expectancy, aging populations, increasing levels of stress among others. In this context, the concepts of health, wellness, beauty, relaxation, and tourism can be combined to satisfy the needs of people seeking better quality-of-life. This has given rise to health and wellness tourism, a new market segment that contributes to employment and economic growth in the new economy. Health and wellness tourism involves two aspects: therapeutics, which seeks to cure certain diseases; and relaxation and leisure. As an alternative to traditional tourism, health and wellness tourism provides a new means of achieving regional and local development from a demographic, social, environmental and economic point-of-view. It contributes to tourist destinations' economic growth, acting as a pillar to support other complementary activities. In short, health and wellness tourism contributes to employment growth and regional wealth, contributes to tourism seasonality, promotes quality in tourism destinations, helps create new tourist services with high value, promotes establishment of international cooperation networks, and yields a number of additional benefits. Featuring a variety of programs and initiatives from different regions, with an emphasis on thermal and thalassotherapy establishments, this volume sheds light on this emerging market segment and its implications for economic and policy development.