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An empirical generalisation is a relationship between two or more variables that has been observed across a range of conditions. By knowing that an observed relationship holds under a range of conditions (and that it does not hold under other conditions) it is possible to use knowledge of the relationship for practical purposes, such as making routine predictions and stating principles. It is also possible to start to theorise why the relationship occurs, and why it holds under some conditions and not others, thereby moving from empirical description to theory-building. The importance of this form of knowledge for marketing is examined. Practical measures are suggested to encourage the search for empirical generalisations.

AbstractWe extend the utility of Goodhardt's negative binomial distribution‐Dirichlet model to demonstrate how it can be used to support portfolio decisions relating to retail assortments. The approach is based on analysing polarisation of loyalty, , obtained via a transformation of the model's S parameter, to investigate loyalty to attributes. Prior research on loyalty to attributes suffers from limitations of method or application, so we develop a full treatment of the statistical basis and analytical methods required for ongoing research in this area. We then demonstrate the utility of our approach through application to four subcategories of coffee in the USA over 2 years. Importantly, we reveal the specific attribute levels (features) that generate the least and most loyalty, and show how this, when combined with market share, can be used to respond to the strategic context. Specifically, those attribute levels with low loyalty may be more suitable for seasonal or limited time offers for which maximising short‐term custom is more important than repeat purchase; conversely, attribute levels with high loyalty may be more suitable for achieving long‐term growth of brand share. In both cases, attribute levels with higher market share are preferable.

AbstractAutobiographical memory involves mentally reliving past episodes that are personally relevant. Psychology research shows that it has remarkable bearing on one's life, including the accomplishment of tasks, self‐enhancement, self‐preservation and attaining goals. Yet, the understanding of autobiographical memory in consumer behaviour research is much more limited. Accordingly, the present study evaluates the impact of two cognitive mechanisms resulting from personal past‐usage experiences linked to the product category, which are likely to underpin consumers' retrieval of brands from memory and purchase intention. The two cognitive aspects are: the cued recollection of specific autobiographical memories; and the accessibility (in memory) of autobiographical episodes of consumption that form product category knowledge. The empirical results obtained across three online experiments suggest product category knowledge accessible in consumer memory has a greater effect on brand retrieval and purchase intention than the direct recollection of specific autobiographical memories cued by the product category. Perceived importance of choice moderates this effect, which primarily concerns purchase intention. In particular, consistent with prior research on activation confusion, product category knowledge reduces purchase intention, especially for highly familiar (or prototypical) brands. Accordingly, we outline implications for branded communications, and advertising pre‐ and post‐testing.

AbstractShopper research has long been undertaken with physical simulated stores and desktop‐operated virtual stores. However, recent developments in motion‐tracked virtual reality offer a range of new possibilities for research using immersive walk‐around virtual simulated stores. To date, there is little knowledge published on the authenticity of shopper behaviour in such immersive virtual environments. The present study therefore reports exploratory results from 153 multicategory shopping trips conducted in an immersive virtual convenience store. Observed shopper metrics and theoretical effects are compared with equivalent data obtained from published sources and found to be consistent across all measures. Specifically, shoppers purchase a plausible share of private label brands, more private label brands in lower consumption pleasure product categories, more products from higher compared with lower shelf positions, make a plausible proportion of impulsive purchases, and spend less time inspecting familiar versus unfamiliar brands. Further, time in‐store, total spending, and product handling time are higher for women than for men. These exploratory findings show that participants continue to exhibit realistic shopper behaviours in an immersive virtual simulated store. Such stores are therefore a cost‐effective alternative to other methods for measuring consumer behaviour. They offer significant potential for innovative experimental designs in consumer research, as well as potential for future use as a digital shopping channel.

How accurate are political opinion polls in multiparty elections? Many countries have proportional representation systems with low vote thresholds for parliamentary representation. Germany has such a system, as do Israel, Poland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, the Republic of Macedonia, Romania, and South Africa. Minor parties are a viable voting choice in these countries, resulting in multiparty elections. Despite this, there is little work on polling accuracy for multiparty elections. Political polling usually has three purposes: to forecast the outcome of an election; to understand voter behavior; and to inform campaign strategy (Hillygus, 2011). In multiparty elections, these imperatives remain, but with complications. The forecasting problem includes whether small parties will gain representation at all. Party supporters may engage in strategic voting to strengthen coalition partners (Meffert & Gschwend, 2011). If a party lies below the proportional representation threshold, supporters may change their vote to avoid wasting their ballot (Holtz-Bacha, 2012). Campaign strategy may take account of postelection coalitions; strategic voting may be encouraged to help a coalition partner above the threshold. Alternatively, campaigning against a minor party may drive it below the threshold, forcing it out of parliament, allowing successful parties to hold more seats. Therefore, to extend work on poll accuracy to multiparty elections, both empirical comparisons and methodological innovations are required. As an empirical base, the present work uses data from New Zealand, a developed western democracy that last held a general election in November 2011. New Zealand has a system of mixed member proportional representation with a threshold of 5% of the vote, resulting in multiparty elections. The present study demonstrates that New Zealand polls have comparable accuracy to those of other developed countries, making it a suitable context for the study of multiparty elections. It then extends formal accuracy analysis to minor parties, including very small parties. Finally, it develops a new method, using odds, to translate poll outcomes into forecasts that a party will cross the proportional representation threshold. Adapted from the source document.