Marketing is an approach that is used to understand society. In a changing society, the modes of operation of industry have undergone considerable transformation. The impact of this transformation in business is felt at many levels in our society. To formulate better strategies for meeting consumer requirements in this changed scenario, the concepts of marketing have to be applied in new and emerging areas.

The contribution of services sector to the economy is immense. Long treated as a minor component in the study of marketing, the marketing of services in recent times has emerged as a major one. In a globalized environment, the designing and marketing of services is likely to be a demanding task. Considerable research is required to understand consumer requirements in services.

In a modern society, the field of sports has emerged as an industry. Every discipline of knowledge is applied in the arena of sports. Marketing concepts have also been extended to the field of sports. For a developing country like India, where marketing of events and sports are becoming important, understanding the experience of other countries in the marketing of sports and allied areas is extremely relevant.

Technology is an area which has had considerable impact on society and has modified our lives. The increasing penetration of the Internet and use of Internet-based services ought to be examined. Here again the field of marketing is relevant and the concepts of marketing can be applied to develop a deeper understanding of consumer requirements. Healthcare has also become technology-intensive and has emerged as a major service industry.

In this issue, the paper, "Buyer Satisfaction, Purchasing Decision and Relative Contribution of Promotion Tools to Olympic Products: The Athens 2004 Experience", analyzes the attitude of consumers towards Athens 2004 Olympic products, their purchasing behavior and, in addition, the impact of the various means of promotion on their attitude and purchasing behavior. With increasing interest in sports marketing in India, the paper has much contemporary relevance. The second paper, "Globalization and Industry Competitiveness in Healthcare Services and Marketing", highlights marketing issues in the context of healthcare marketing, impact of technology on hospitals and competition among centres of healthcare delivery and technology as a source of competitive advantage. The influence of gender, education and monthly household income on Internet usage pattern is examined in the third paper, "Understanding Internet Usage Pattern Among Students in a Northeastern State of India", and is likely to be useful for Internet service providers. Public attitude towards advertising is the focus of the fourth paper, "Exploration of Environmental Dimensions of Servicescapes: A Literature Review". The latest developments in the study of servicescapes and the research gaps in this area are outlined in the last paper, "Public Attitude Toward Advertising: An Empirical Study of Northern India". We do hope this issue is relevant and useful to our readers.

- Maruthi Suresh
Consulting Editor