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This
issue deals with contemporary topics such as effect of Proxemics
on leader-member exchange quality, use of voice manipulation
to overcome organizational resistance, developing emotional
appeals in Internet advertising and rural consumer post-purchase
behavior.
Proxemics
forms an integral part of our environmental setting through
its elements of space, distance and territory, thus affecting
our behavior. In an organizational setting, this behavior
has been found to be culturally conditioned, and thus may
differentially affect the degree of mutual influence and obligation
between superiors and subordinates. Himanshu Rai and Vaibhavi
Kulkarni, in the research paper, "How Close Can You Get:
The Effect of Proxemics on Leader-Member Exchange Quality",
study the informal interactions and space/territory manifestations,
which have an effect on the perceptions of employees and on
the quality of their relationship with their superiors. Since
these perceptions are related to job satisfaction, extra role
behaviors and performance, the study assumes much importance,
as it suggests certain uncommon ways to improve working relationships.
The hypothesis that different informal interactional levels
and dining arrangements would have different effects on the
leader-member exchange quality was tested in organizations
across India. The study also focuses on the importance of
dyadic relationships expounded in leadership literature.
`Change
for Survival' is the inner belief among today's managers.
To create certain changes in the organization, managers are
always on the lookout for planned changes that are intentional
and goal-oriented. It is extremely important for the manager
to understand how to handle organizational resistance. Rachana
Chatopadhyay, in the research paper, "Use of Voice Manipulation
to Overcome Organizational Resistance: An Experimental Study
Based on the Perception of Bank Employees", attempts
to understand the manipulative use of procedural fairness
belief to overcome organizational resistance. Procedural fairness
is measured with the help of four primary dependent variables:
perceived respect, perceived fairness, perceived control over
the situations and inclination towards agitation. The author
concludes that inclination towards agitation is less when
the voice is provided by in-group authority. The author also
says that the findings are expected to help managers handle
organizational changes and overcome organizational resistance.
Online
media and its increasing usage rate have changed the marketer's
world. Internet advertising has captured the imagination of
marketers, who see in it an enormous potential to raise the
profile of their brands. Companies are moving online across
the spectrum of marketing activities, from building awareness
to after-sales service, and they see online tools as an important
and effective component of their marketing strategies. In
the light of the widespread use of the Internet, the marketers
and advertisers target their consumers by developing emotional
bonding/connection with them. Manish Srivastava and Manu Sharma,
in the research paper, "The Role of Emotional Appeals
in Internet Advertising: A Study of the Contributing Factors
Involved", aim to provide an insight into the factors
responsible for developing emotional appeal, and a means by
which Internet advertising can contribute to the formation
of emotionally-charged consumer connection. The authors describe
the importance of Internet advertising in this digital economy
and emotional message appeals used by the advertisers in the
Internet advertisements. The authors also explore the contribution
of each of the factors to the process of developing emotional
connection with the audience and also the integration of these
factors in developing emotional bonding with the viewers.
Customer
satisfaction is an important element in the process of evaluating
the performance of markets. Customers are becoming smarter,
more price conscious, more demanding, less forgiving and approached
by many more competitors with equal or better offers. Therefore,
the real challenges are not only to produce satisfied customer,
which several competitors can also do, but it is to produce
delighted and loyal customers. A Sarangapani and T Mamatha,
in the research paper, "Rural Consumer: Post-Purchase
Behavior and Consumerism", attempt to undertake an in-depth
enquiry into the buying behavior of rural consumers with regard
to selected packaged consumer non-durables, in terms of consumption
patterns, buying motives, factors influencing the buying behavior,
brand preferences, their levels of satisfaction, etc. The
authors also suggest measures for effective and efficient
rural marketing practices.
The
Financial Service industry in India has been tremendously
growing. There is a need for innovative products and quality
services at faster rate from the companies. As a result, a
number of new products and services like credit cards, ATMs,
consumer finance, mutual funds, etc., have become a norm.
Intense competition among companies, coupled with highly demanding
customers, have made the job of financial service providers
tougher and more challenging. For a long time, financial service
providers had presumed that their operations were customer-centric,
simply because they had customers. They need to understand
the changing needs of customers and offer new products and
services accordingly. In the given scenario, relationship
marketing has emerged as a dominant paradigm in the field
of marketing. Vaibhav Shekar and Nitin Gupta, in the research
paper, "Customers' Perspective on Relationship Marketing
in Financial Service Industry", explore the customers'
perspective on the concept of relationship marketing. The
authors attempt to understand the customer's perspective of
their relationship with financial service provider. The authors
also suggest that the motivations and factors should be taken
into consideration by a financial service provider, while
formulating relationship marketing strategies.
-
T R K Rao
Consulting
Editor
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