AI@CBS

I view the research articles presented here as prototypical examples of what may be called “the new wave” in studying Asian markets and consumers. This emerging “new wave” has a different focus than research done over the last few decades. Research is shifting from an emphasis on traditional Asian culture toward a focus on consumer culture and how this consumer culture manifests itself in various Asian markets. The “new wave” research also focuses less on general concepts and more on uniquely Asian phenomena. Finally, methodologically research is shifting from “East” vs.

We report the results of a survey conducted in November 2014 in which 29 quantitative marketing scholars from around the world reflected on the present and future of their field. The survey focused on substantive areas, methods and tools, practical and managerial relevance, doctoral training, and promotion and tenure. The results of the survey revealed several general insights on the challenges and opportunities faced by the field of quantitative marketing research.

The authors discuss the current state and future scenarios of brand experience — a new concept that they contributed to the brand management literature. Specifically, they present three research and practical trends, and marketing challenges: (i) the proliferation of settings and media that evoke brand experiences; (ii) the role of brands in consumption experiences; and (iii) the need of brand experiences to reach positive psychological outcomes.

The value of a business depends on its future not its past. Nonetheless, some managers base key decisions on backwards-looking metrics or models that have been shown to be inappropriate in many situations.

What metrics and models can provide managers with steering control for maximizing the value of their business? This editorial provides some ideas.

In many markets, it is common for headquarters to create a price list but grant local salespeople discretion to negotiate prices for individual transactions. How much (if any) pricing discretion headquarters should grant is a topic of debate within many firms. We investigate this issue using a unique data set from an indirect lender with local pricing discretion. We estimate that the local sales force adjusted prices in a way that improved profits by approximately 10% on average.

Product discussion boards are a rich source of information about consumer sentiment about products, which is being increasingly exploited. Most sentiment analysis has looked at single products in isolation, but users often compare different products, stating which they like better and why. We present a set of techniques for analyzing how consumers view product markets. Specifically, we extracted relative sentiment analysis and comparisons between products, to understand what attributes users compare products on, and which products they prefer on each dimension.

When a negotiator of digital investments at a global advertising firm is given the task of developing an innovative media strategy for a car insurance product targeting young urban drivers, she looks to native advertising as a possible option. This case considers the genesis of native advertising, the associated costs, and the challenges to providing meaningful metrics as she weighs the pros and cons of this option for the firm's client.

At the time of its launch, Contently was a digital marketplace, where small businesses, agencies, and corporations could search for writers. But recent financial results showed that Contently earned substantially more profit from its Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) business than from its writers' commissions. This case — which includes background on the evolution of content marketing, information on the SaaS industry, as well as data on Contently's financial performance — asks students to evaluate Contently's best path to profitable growth.