Establishing discriminant validity has been a keystone of measurement validity in empirical marketing research for many decades. Without statistically showing that constructs have discriminant validity, contributions to marketing literature are likely to foster the proliferation of constructs that are operationally the same as other constructs already present in the literature, thus leading to confusion in the development of theory. This article addresses this concern by evaluating well-established methods for testing discriminant validity through the simulation of artificial datasets (containing varying levels of correlation between constructs, sample size, measurement error, and distribution skewness). The artificial data are applied to six commonly used approaches for testing the existence of discriminant validity. Results strongly suggest that several methods are much more likely than others to yield accurate assessments of whether discriminant validity exists, especially under specific conditions. Recommendations for practice in the assessment of discriminant validity are suggested.

With many characterizing obesity as a national priority, the U.S. government is considering a 1‐, 2‐, or 3‐cents‐per‐ounce (cpo) federal sin tax on soda products.ObjectiveBecause prior research finds that consumers substitute equally, if not more, dangerous nicotine products with a tobacco sin tax and common alcohol‐like household goods with alcohol prohibition, this research sets out to determine whether the imposition of a soda sin tax produces similar first‐party externalities.MethodAdaptive conjoint analysis is utilized among respondents across several regions of the United States, including actual soda consumers.ResultsThis study finds that given a soda sin tax, soda consumers do not substitute healthier beverages, that is, beverages with relatively fewer calories and grams of sugar and sodium, such as water, pure fruit juice, or unsweetened tea. Instead, soda consumers switch to other sugary beverages not considered in most legislation, such as sweetened coffees, teas, or sports drinks, or continue consuming soda at tax rates of 2 and 3 cpo after the shock of a one‐cent tax wears off.ConclusionUnlike prior research examining decreased soda consumption across a general marketplace, this research offers insight into potential externalities among the key transacting actors in such an exchange: soda consumers.

Executive Summary  Purpose - The purpose of the study that was contracted by the Governor’s Task Force was to determine if a method could be found to provide a valid estimate of the number of female victims of sex trafficking in Nebraska. The results could be used to possibly drive policy and/or legislation in order to combat sex trafficking in Nebraska.  Estimate From our work, we can say that the known number of Nebraska school girls who become victims of sex trafficking is at least 47 per year. We are certain, based on the fact that our methodology, in order to avoid any possibility of overestimating, deliberately underestimates the number of Nebraska school girl victims, and that the true number is probably double this or greater. In addition, since it was infeasible to try to estimate the number of adults, males, and nonNebraskans who are sex trafficking victims, the total number of sex trafficking victims in the state is certainly much higher.  Method - The method used to determine the feasibility of estimating the number of sex trafficking victims in Nebraska was the key informant method. At least seven other methods were considered, however, because of the limitations of those methods, and because of the success of previous research conducted by the research team discussed in the full report, the key informant method was selected. The researchers used a random-sample survey of key informants, young women, aged 18-22, who had been attending a Nebraska high school. A mail questionnaire was developed and mailed to 4060 young women in our targeted group on February 2, 2015. Of these, 260 usable questionnaires were returned. It is important to note that the unit of analysis was the cohort of students in a particular Nebraska high school senior graduating class, again explained in the full report.

Many American companies now use information technology applications (e.g., database technologies, CRM solutions) to serve carefully chosen, smaller market segments, or even segments of one. They interact with customers with personalized emails, offer product customization on company websites, and attempt to learn customer preferences from previous service interactions.

Name Index Italic page references indicate tables and figures. Aaker, David A., 93, 110, 114–115, 136, 138, 140, 240–241 Aaker, Jennifer L., 7, 17, 24, 65, 83–84, 94, 173294, 358–359, 368 Aarts, Henk, 46 Achenreiner, Gwen B., 242 Adamy, Janet, 237 Adelman, Mara B., 342 Advertising Age, 218 Aggarwal, Pankaj, 7, 10, 14, 24–41, 83–84, 93, 361, 369–370, 388–389 Agnew, Christopher R., 284–286 Ahearne, Michael, 85 Ahluwalia, Rohini, 85, 307, 382 Ahuvia, Aaron C., 65–66, 74271, 276, 342–355, 344, 381388 Aiken, LS, 156 Aiken, Michael T., 307 Ailawadi, Kusum L., 388 Ainsworth, Mary DS, 327, 360, 387 Ajzen, Icek, 47, 126–127 … 406 NAME INDEX Bayon, Tomas, 203 Beach, Steven RH, 69 Bearden, William O., 112, 116, 270–271 Beatty, Sharon E., 45, 85, 94332 Becker, Gary S., 59 Becker-Olsen, Karen L., 204 Beehr, Terry A., 207 Belk, Russell W., 107, 110, 124, 138, 142, 145, 221, 270 …

Hubbard and Lindsay's article in this issue proposes a framework for generating knowledge based upon significant sameness of replications rather than significant differences. This critique agrees with their basic premise, but points out weaknesses in their proposal to use overlapping confidence intervals around effect sizes in close replications as the criterion for knowledge.

The recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs. (United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime, 2011)

Preference stability refers to the objectively measured choice consistency among options with different attribute values in the same product category. We suggest that a consumer's subjectively held belief of preference stability may be an important determinant of response to personalized recommendations. Experimental results confirm that preference stability belief moderates the effect of customization on the evaluation of recommendation accuracy and receptiveness to the learning relationship. Customization will produce stronger effects on accuracy evaluation and receptiveness for subjects with high preference stability belief than for subjects with low preference stability belief. Customers who believe their preferences are stable appreciate customized recommendations more, notice more acutely whether recommendations are customized or not, and are more receptive to the learning relationship when recommendations are customized than when not. Customers who believe their own preferences are less stable do not appreciate customized recommendations as much, are less sensitive to whether recommendations are customized or not, and are not more receptive to the learning relationship even when recommendations are customized. Theoretical and managerial implications of our findings are discussed. Copyright (C) 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Six years ago, I asked the readers of this column to write letters of protest to their own members of congress and to local newspapers to urge them to publicize this cruel and unjust system. You responded magnificently, or so I had thought. Your letters made a difference, or so I believed. The bad guys promised to change. They lied to us. We've been tricked. What appropriate behavior for those who profit most by selling Halloween candy. Treat or trick, anyone?

Alternative trade organizations (ATOs) based on philosophies of social justice and/or environmental well-being are establishing new channels of trade and marketing. Partisans promote ATOs as systems to transfer benefits from consumers in the wealthy northern hemisphere to producers in the poor southern hemisphere. The central public policy question is whether the well-being of poor agricultural producers in the southern hemisphere is actually being improved by fair-trade practices, or are consumers who buy products on this premise deceived? The research reported here partially answers the question whether participation in a fair-trade coffee marketing channel delivers benefits to small-scale producers in Latin America. The authors employ a survey methodology to compare TransFair USA (TF) cooperative participants and nonparticipating farmers in three countries on socioeconomic indicators of well-being. According to the analysis, the economic effects of fair-trade participation are unassailable; the effects on educational and health outcomes are uneven. However, TF cooperative participation positively affects educational attainment and the likelihood that a child is currently studying. The authors find positive health-related consequences of TF cooperative participation.

1 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the International Organization for Migration, Mission in Ukraine. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the International Organization for Migration. " This publication was made possible through support provided by U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Mission for Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova. The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Introduction 3 The problem of estimating human trafficking 3 Brief summary of methods and results 6 Summary table 8

PurposeDespite the strong intuitive appeal of personalization (through employees or, increasingly, through the use of software applications), relatively little is known about its role in managing service relationships. This study aims to explore the burgeoning area of technology‐mediated personalization and its effects on customer commitment to service relationships.Design/methodology/approachA theoretical perspective based on integrated reviews of service research and relationship marketing is developed and used to guide the exploration of personalization effects with qualitative data.FindingsPersonalization is not always good enhancement to service: its effects have contingencies and vary across the categories. Continuity personalization seems to be a promising area for researchers and practitioners.Research limitations/implicationsPersonalization effects should be rigorously studied. Continuity personalization seems to offer a promising area for future research.Practical implicationsThe intuitive belief about personalization is probably misleading. Whether or not personalization strategies help service relationships depends on their capacity to generate positive inferences on dimensions of performance, benevolence, and value provision. Out of the three types, continuity personalization offers a promising strategic option for managing ongoing customer relationships if well implemented.Originality/valueThe counter‐intuitive insights into personalization effects on relationship continuity address issues of theoretical and practical concerns.

Service firms (e.g., Amazon, Netflix) testify that recommender systems earn repeat purchases, reduce customer churn, and sharpen competitive edges. However, little is known about why customers will keep using a company's recommender system. We conceptualise that customer perceptions of accuracy, benevolence and process value may affect sustained usage. We also explored the roles of preference stability and privacy concerns. We surveyed customers who had used recommender systems. Surprisingly, perceptions of benevolence and process value, rather than accuracy, drive sustained usage behaviour. Results fail to support the effects of preference stability or privacy concerns. Implications for research and businesses are discussed.

Human trafficking, as defined here, is moving human beings across borders for the purpose of enslaving them. Human trafficking may be in the sex trade, forced labor or service, extraction of body parts, or other forms of exploited labor or debt bondage. The market is believed to be extensive, with its own distribution channels, pricing systems, and other market functions. The purposes of this article are to present an understanding of cross-border human trafficking as a marketing system, to explicate the societal effects of that system, and to show how the extent of cross-border trafficking may be estimated, using as an example several countries where it is believed to be a substantial problem. Additionally, we seek to show that cross-border human trafficking may be a much more serious problem than what is visible to governments.

Abstract This research investigated the consequences of powerlessness when consumers experience service failure with a company that has high‐exit barriers. The specific consequences investigated were three types of secondary control, which are grudge‐holding, avoidance (predictive avoidance), and retaliation desire. These secondary control coping strategies highlight consumers' ability to control their personal behaviors and thoughts, even when they cannot completely control the outcomes of a situation. A qualitative study, followed by a scenario‐based survey and structural equation model, suggest that the primary direct consequences of powerlessness in commercial relationships are grudge‐holding and predictive avoidance, and that both predictive avoidance and a desire to retaliate are further consequences of grudge‐holding. The results of this research underscore the importance of understanding the role of powerlessness and its consequences in consumer–firm relationships. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.