David Bell

Bio: David Bell is an academic researcher from University of Leeds. The author has contributed to research in topics: Tourism & Queer. The author has an hindex of 52, co-authored 214 publications receiving 14873 citations. Previous affiliations of David Bell include University of California, Los Angeles & Staffordshire University.

Spatial Models in Marketing

Abstract: Marketing science models typically assume that responses of one entity (firm or consumer) are unrelated to responses of other entities. In contrast, models constructed using tools from spatial statistics allow for cross-sectional and longitudinal correlations among responses to be explicitly modeled by locating entities on some type of map. By generalizing the notion of a map to include demographic and psychometric representations, spatial models can capture a variety of effects (spatial lags, spatial autocorrelation, and spatial drift) that impact firm or consumer decision behavior. Marketing science applications of spatial models and important research opportunities are discussed.

The Role of Internal Reference Points in the Category Purchase Decision

Abstract: The authors study the role that reference effects play in the category purchase decision for consumer nondurable products. Category purchase behavior is represented by a nested logit model that is estimated on purchase records of shoppers in two Universal Product Code (UPC) scanner panels. A series of hypotheses are developed, modeled, and tested regarding the effects that internal reference points for product category attractiveness are likely to have on the decision to buy in a product category on a store visit. The authors hypothesize that the difference between a shopper's reference point for category attractiveness and the current level of category attractiveness will affect the purchase decision. In particular, the extent of purchase postponement caused by a loss (i.e., a negative discrepancy) should exceed the acceleration caused by a gain (i.e., a positive discrepancy). Reference effects on the category purchase decision are also hypothesized to interact with the shopper's familiarity with the store visited on a given trip. In particular, the impact of losses is predicted to be higher in unfamiliar than in familiar stores. The authors present model estimates and test results from two product categories (saltine crackers and liquid laundry detergent) and find all hypotheses to be supported.

Rational shopping behavior and the option value of variable pricing

Abstract: When a product's price fluctuates at a store, how should rational, cost-minimizing shoppers shop for it? Specifically, how frequently should they visit the store, and how much of the product should they buy when they get there? Would this rational shopping behavior differ across Every Day Low Price (EDLP) and Promotional Pricing (HILO) stores? If shoppers are rational, which retail price format is more profitable, EDLP or HILO? To answer these questions, we develop a normative model that shows how rational customers should shop when the price of the product is random. We derive a closed-form expression for the optimal purchasing policy and show that the optimal quantity to purchase under a given price scenario is linearly decreasing in the difference between the price under that scenario and the average price. This purchase flexibility due to price variability has a direct impact on shopping frequency. Indeed, the benefit of this purchase flexibility can be captured via an "option value" that implicitly reduces the fixed cost associated with each shopping trip. Consequently, rational shoppers should shop more often and buy fewer units per trip when they face higher price variability. Our results suggest that if two stores charge the same average price for a product, rational shoppers incur a lower level of expenditure at the store with a higher price variability. Since stores with different price variabilities coexist in practice, we expect stores with higher price variability to charge a higher average price. Thus, given two stores, a higher relative mean price for a given item should be indicative of higher price variability, and vice versa. These model implications are tested using multicategory scanner panel data from 513 households and pricing data for three stores (two EDLP stores and one HILO store) and 33 product categories over a two-year period. We find strong empirical support for the model implications.

Creating Win-Win Trade Promotions: Theory and Empirical Analysis of Scan-Back Trade Deals

Abstract: Manufacturer trade promotion spending is second only to cost of goods sold as a profit-and-loss item, yet manufacturers often lose money on these deals as a result of forward-buying by retailers. The search for more effective forms of trade promotion and the availability of scanners at cash registers has led to the emergence of a new type of trade deal-the scan-back-that gives retailers a discount on unitssoldduring the promotion rather than on unitsbought. We develop a theory to compare retailer pricing decisions and profitability under scan-back and traditional off-invoice trade deals. We show that, when the terms of the trade deal are identical, retailers prefer off-invoice trade deals and manufacturers prefer scan-backs. Manufacturers can, however, redesign the scan-back to leave the retailer weakly better off and leave themselves strictly better off. Using proprietary data from the beverage category, we conduct an empirical analysis and find that during the promotion period scan-back trade deals, relative to off-invoice deals: 1 Do not cause excess ordering and 2 generate higher retail sales through lower retail prices. Implications for researchers and managers are discussed.

Bowling alone: The collapse and revival of American community

Abstract: The present historical moment may seem a particularly inopportune time to review Bowling Alone, Robert Putnam's latest exploration of civic decline in America. After all, the outpouring of volunteerism, solidarity, patriotism, and self-sacrifice displayed by Americans in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks appears to fly in the face of Putnam's central argument: that \"social capital\" -defined as \"social networks and the norms of reciprocity and trustworthiness that arise from them\" (p. 19)'has declined to dangerously low levels in America over the last three decades. However, Putnam is not fazed in the least by the recent effusion of solidarity. Quite the contrary, he sees in it the potential to \"reverse what has been a 30to 40-year steady decline in most measures of connectedness or community.\"' As an example of how the current \"war on terrorism\" could generate a durable civic renewal, Putnam points to the burst in civic practices that occurred during and after World War II, which he says \"permanently marked\" the generation that lived through it and had a \"terrific effect on American public life over the last half-century.\" 3 If Americans can follow this example and channel their current civic

Economics of Information

Abstract: The author systematically examines one of the important issues of information — establishing the market price. He introduces the concept of «search» — where a buyer wanting to get a better price, is forced to question sellers. The article deals with various aspects of finding the necessary information.

Boundary-Work and the Demarcation of Science from Non-Science: Strains and Interests in Professional Ideologies of Scientists

Abstract: The demarcation of science from other intellectual activities-long an analytic problem for philosophers and sociologists-is here examined as a practical problem for scientists. Construction of a boundary between science and varieties of non-science is useful for scientists' pursuit of professional goals: acquisition of intellectual authority and career opportunities; denial of these resources to "pseudoscientists"; and protection of the autonomy of scientific research from political interference. "Boundary-work" describes an ideological style found in scientists' attempts to create a public image for science by contrasting it favorably to non-scientific intellectual or technical activities. Alternative sets of characteristics available for ideological attribution to science reflect ambivalences or strains within the institution: science can be made to look empirical or theoretical, pure or applied. However, selection of one or another description depends on which characteristics best achieve the demarcation in a way that justifies scientists' claims to authority or resources. Thus, "science" is no single thing: its boundaries are drawn and redrawn inflexible, historically changing and sometimes ambiguous ways.