Showing papers by "Ralf Wagner published in 2010"

Impact of Direct Marketing Activities on Company Reputation Transfer Success: Empirical Evidence from Five Different Cultures

Abstract: Extending previous research on commitment and trust, we challenge the cultural impact on the organization's reputation and, particularly, reputation transfer to new business fields. A theory-based model enables the testing of hypotheses related to culture-specific differences between B-to-B customers in Australia, Finland, Germany, Spain and Russia. The empirical part of the article draws on an application example of selling pharmaceutical products to hospitals. Focusing on the impact of customer satisfaction, direct marketing activities and word-of-mouth effects, open-minded and honest communication turns out to be of varying importance for reputation transfer.

Bargaining Power and the Impact of Gender Differences - An Experimental Investigation on Retailer-Manufacturer Bargaining

Abstract: One of the recurring topics in retailing is the power shift in the supply channel toward the retailers. Several studies focus on the reasons for the power shift rather than highlighting the consequences for the retailer-manufacturer relationship. Despite a considerable amount of literature about gender, the intersection of power and gender is seldom challenged. In this paper, we combine both research fields and analyze the force of gender differences and bargaining power on the success in the domain of retailer-manufacturer negotiations.In our experiment, which is a modified version of Gupta’s (1989) negotiation task with 72 negotiators, we consider the issue authority as a proxy of bargaining power. Differences in issue authority allocation turn out to have a significant impact on negotiation success. In scenarios with substantial differences in bargaining power, particularly female and mixed dyads failed to achieve a mutually satisfactory result.We learn that an increase in issue authority for one of the two parties does not necessarily lead to an increase in negotiation efficiency. Female negotiators rely on their bargaining power, rather than systematically improving mutual utilities whereas masculine dyads negotiate on a consistently higher, but still inefficient level. In the light of these differences, we argue that bargaining power in commercial negotiations does not compensate for insufficient negotiation skills or efforts. On the contrary, unbalanced bargaining power decreases the likelihood of success.

RESEARCH PROTOCOL Replication of the Research Seminar in Negotiation Management

Abstract: This project was initially developed at the University of Kassel to introduce and integrate students in research at the University of Kassel. The research seminar focuses on "negotiation management" to introduce and integrate student in research. The participants learn how to plan, develop and conduct own research projects. Effectiveness in negotiations is crucial for success in business (Bloch & Wagner, 2010). Increasing international business adds complexity to negotiations and training. Negotiation skills are seen as very important (GMAC, 2010) but rarely addressed in European MBA-curricula (Loades, 2009). With this project these gaps can be closed twice. On the one hand, students can be introduced in real research projects and on the other hand, they get negotiation training.

Gaining ‘Consumer Insights’ from Influential Actors in Weblog Networks

Abstract: Worldwide, weblog users make up a permanently growing conversation database including various private topics, but also discussions about services, products and brands. Hyperlinks create a social network between weblogs in the course of a dialog. This new form of social interaction shifts power in B2C marketing communication toward the consumers. In this study, we visualize and analyze a social network of weblogs which discuss mobile communication devices. We use different methods of the social network analysis to identify sub-communities and influential weblogs within the whole network. Once these important blogs are identified, we use the netnography procedure to gain “consumer insights” which tell us what the consumers really think and what their needs, wishes, problems and questions are regarding the products.