This article presents a theory of potentially universal aspects in the content of human values. Ten types of values are distinguished by their motivational goals. The theory also postulates a structure of relations among the value types, based on the conflicts and compatibilities experienced when pursuing them. This structure permits one to relate systems of value priorities, as an integrated whole, to other variables. A new values instrument, based on the theory and suitable for cross-cultural research, is described. Evidence relevant for assessing the theory, from 97 samples in 44 countries, is summarized. Relations of this approach to Rokeach's work on values and to other theories and research on value dimensions are discussed. Application of the approach to social issues is exemplified in the domains of politics and intergroup relations.

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Are There Universal Aspects in the Structure and Contents of Human Values

Driven by more demanding customers, global competition, and slow-growth economies and industries, many organizations search for new ways to achieve and retain a competitive advantage. Past attempts have largely looked internally within the organization for improvement, such as reflected by quality management, reengineering, downsizing, and restructuring. The next major source for competitive advantage likely will come from more outward orientation toward customers, as indicated by the many calls for organizations to compete on superior customer value delivery. Although the reasons for these calls are sound, what are the implications for managing organizations in the next decade and beyond? This article addresses this question. It presents frameworks for thinking about customer value, customer value learning, and the related skills that managers will need to create and implement superior customer value strategies.

Customer value: The next source for competitive advantage

The study of cognition in organizations has burgeoned in recent years. Top-down information processing theory suggests that individuals create knowledge structures to help them process information and make decisions. While the benefits of employing such knowledge structures are widely noted, there is a growing concern that they can limit decision makers' abilities to understand their information environments and thus, compromise their decision making. This issue has captured the imagination of managerial and organizational cognition researchers. To date, their inquiry has been eclectic in focus and method. To order and advance this work, the author reviews extant research on the developmental origins and decision consequences of both the content and structure of knowledge structures at multiple levels of analysis. A host of research challenges are identified to help develop a better understanding of knowledge structure representation, development, and use in organizations.

https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/2635252.pdf

Managerial and Organizational Cognition: Notes from a Trip Down Memory Lane

We present the results of a study designed to test several hypotheses concerning the effects of intrinsic and situational sources of personal relevance on felt involvement and on the amount of attention and comprehension effort, the focus of attention and comprehension processes, and the extent of cognitive elaboration during comprehension. Felt involvement is a motivational state that affects the extent and focus of consumers' attention and comprehension processes, and thus the specific meanings that are produced. The results of the study provide strong evidence that felt involvement plays a motivational role in consumers' attention and comprehension processes.

The Role of Involvement in Attention and Comprehension Processes

To practitioner and researcher alike, consumer values play an important role in understanding behavior in the marketplace. This paper presents a model linking perceived product attributes to values.

https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/3203341

A means–end chain model based on consumer categorization processes.

Personal values research in marketing has recently received a substantial amount 
of attention from both academics and practitioners. This more in-depth profiling 
of the consumer and his or her relationship to products offers potential not only 
for understanding the “cognitive” positionings of current products but also 
permits the development of positioning strategies for new products. Endorsing 
this more psychological view of the marketplace, Sheth (1983) suggested that to 
be competitive in marketing products in the 1980s, both researchers and 
management are going to have to, if they have not already, adopt this consumerbased orientation rather than one that merely focuses on product characteristics.

Laddering theory, method, analysis, and interpretation.

Contents: J.A. Howard, G.E. Warren, Foreword. Preface. Part I:Introduction. J.C. Olson, T.J. Reynolds, The Means-End Approach to Understanding Consumer Decision Making. Part II:Using Laddering Methods to Identify Means-End Chains. T.J. Reynolds, J. Gutman, Laddering Theory, Method, Analysis, and Interpretation. K.G. Grunert, S.C. Beckmann, E. Sorensen, Means-End Chains and Laddering: An Inventory of Problems and an Agenda for Research. T.J. Reynolds, C. Dethloff, S.J. Westberg, Advancements in Laddering. C.E. Gengler, T.J. Reynolds, Consumer Understanding and Advertising Strategy: Analysis and Strategic Translation of Laddering Data. Part III:Developing and Assessing Advertising Strategy. T.J. Reynolds, J. Gutman, Advertising Is Image Management. T.J. Reynolds, A.B. Craddock, The Application of the MECCAS Model to the Development and Assessment of Advertising Strategy: A Case Study. J.R. Rossiter, L. Percy, The a-b-e Model of Benefit Focus in Advertising. T.J. Reynolds, D.B. Whitlark, R.B. Wirthlin, Effectively Translating In-Depth Consumer Understanding Into Communications Strategy and Advertising Practice. T.J. Reynolds, C. Gengler, A Strategic Framework for Assessing Advertising: The Animatic Versus Finished Issue. Part IV:The Means-End Approach to Developing Marketing Strategy. T.J. Reynolds, J.P. Rochon, With S.I. Westberg, A Means-End Chain Approach to Motivating the Sales Force: The Mary Kay Strategy. T.J. Reynolds, J.P. Rochon, Consumer Segmentation Based on Cognitive Orientations: The ChemLawn Case. T.J. Reynolds, J. Norvell, Fund-Raising Strategy: Tapping Into Philanthropic Value Orientations. J.A. Norton, T.J. Reynolds, The Application of Means-End Theory in Industrial Marketing. T.J. Reynolds, S.J. Westberg, Beyond Financial Engineering: A Taxonomy of Strategic Equity. Part V:Theoretical Perspectives for Means-End Research. C. Claeys, P.V. Abeele, Means-End Chain Theory and Involvement: Potential Research Directions. J.B. Cohen, L. Warlop, A Motivational Perspective on Means-End Chains. R. Pieters, D. Allen, H. Baumgartner, A Means-End Conceptualization of Goal-Directed Consumer Behavior.

Understanding Consumer Decision Making : The Means-end Approach To Marketing and Advertising Strategy

As the title of this chapter suggests, the advertising function may be equated, at 
least in part, to the creation and management of product imagery; that is, the set 
of meanings and associations that serve to differentiate a product or service from 
its competition. Obviously, the authors are not the first ones to come upon this 
way of looking at advertising. One might refer back to Ogilvy’s (1963) 
Confessions of an Advertising Man for a recommendation that brand image 
should be the basis for developing sound advertising strategies.

Advertising Is Image Management

Two major obstacles exist to the proliferation of laddering as a management tooL First, the sheer magnitude of tedious work an analyst must perform to complete an analysis adds excessive costs to any study. Second, many who are familiar with the technique still have difficulty bridging from data to strategy to executional design and implications. This paper addresses both of those issues by describing a newly available software support tool to make the data analysis a more reasonable task and by discussing the issue of strategy development and implementation. An example within the product category of dog food data is used.

Consumer Understanding and Advertising Strategy: Analysis and Strategic Translation of Laddering Data

A method and system is disclosed that provides: (a) a theoretical framework for designing psychological research that uncovers individual decision-making networks, both in terms of sampling requirements and questioning methods, (b) an implementation interface to schedule and administer the appropriate question sequences between an interviewer and a given individual, in real-time, via a web-based system, and (c) a coding and analysis system to summarize and quantify the potential of alternative decision structures to be used to optimize the development of marketing and communication strategies.

Thomas J. Reynolds

Papers

Laddering theory, method, analysis, and interpretation.

Understanding Consumer Decision Making : The Means-end Approach To Marketing and Advertising Strategy

Advertising Is Image Management

Consumer Understanding and Advertising Strategy: Analysis and Strategic Translation of Laddering Data

Determining Strategies for Increasing Loyalty of a Population to an Entity