Article Review

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Sheth and Venkatesan (1968) carried out an experimental study on how the end users usually make decisions before going ahead with their purchases.  Consumer decision making processes vary a lot but equally affect the sale volume. In this particular study, information-seeking is a major risk reduction aspect that the authors have underscored. Before consumers make purchasing decision, they tend to seek relevant data or information.

According to the article, pre-purchase deliberation is also a common practice in the entire process of decision making. While the quality of products offered at the market is a key determinant in the volume of sales at any given time in the lifetime of an organization, the authors observe that brand loyalty also plays a major role in the buying decision of consumers.

Formulation of high-risk groups as well as low-risk categories assists in the manipulation of perceived risk. The findings indicated that information searching and before-purchase deliberations dropped while loyalty towards the brand improved over a given duration. It is vital to mention that the article is relevant since it captures the marketing concept when it comes to consumer behavior.  From the marketing perspective, it is evident that consumers’ behavior has the potential of tilting organizational returns especially in regards to pre-purchase decisions.

Discussion questions

  • What are some of the viable interdisciplinary approaches employed in exploring and understanding consumer behavior at the marketplace?
  • A dynamic framework may be used to explain risk-taking theory. However, a number of potential implications emerge. Discuss three of the likely implications that may be observed.

In the second article, Brodwin (2012) explores the significance of government as a body in the venue for marketing goods and services. The article  relates to the importance of government or the role that should be played by government during the process of marketing goods and services.  Since the article address marketing and the response of consumers before buying goods or services, it is indeed relevant to the subject matter being discussed.

In summary, Brodwin (2012) tries to debunk the myth that the private sector is more efficient than the public domain. According to the author, quality delivery of services or goods is not a preserve of the private sector. Indeed, there are instances when the private sector does exceptionally well in marketing compared to the public sector. However, this does not rule out the fact that the public sector has systematically failed to deliver. There has been a general notion that the government should avoid engaging itself in entrepreneurship in a similar way as the private firms. While the latter assertion possesses some element of truth, it is not always the case.

Second, the author points out that for a fair playground to be maintained among marketplace players, the government needs to come in and set the right platform. In other words, governmental regulation of the marketplace is fundamental. Aspects such as property rights, contracts and patents can only be granted and monitored by a non-partisan player who in this case is the government. Governments also manage externalities that are vital in developing a viable marketing platform.

Questions

  • Highlight specific roles that state organs can play in facilitating competitive, productive and fundamentally-operational markets.
  • How can the government do better than the private sector at the marketplace? Should markets be always regulated? Discuss.

References

Brodwin, D. (2012). Why We Need the Government in the Marketplace. Retrieved from

http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/economic-intelligence/2012/12/21/why-we-          need-the-government-in-the-marketplace

Sheth, J. N., & Venkatesan, M. (1968). Risk-reduction processes in repetitive consumer             behavior. Journal of Marketing research, 5(3), 307-310.


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