Book Reviews

Essam Mahmoud, Editor American Graduate School ~!# International Management

Strategy in Advertising: Matching Media and Messages to Markets and Motivations

by Leo Bogart (Lincolnwood, IL: NTC Business Books , 1990, 406 pp.)

If you have always wanted a copy of [.co Bogan's Strat- egy in Advertising (Second Edition) on your bookshelf, you now have the opportunity to buy it in the more aflordable paperback form. This classic second edition {not to be con- fused with the first edition published m 1967) was published by Crain Books in 1984 and by NTC Business Books in 1986. Except lot a revision of the preface and the addition of an introductory section, this book appears to bc un- changed since its 1984 copyright date.

As the book cover touts, Strategy in Advertising is truly a "'blending of advertising theory and practice." However, the endorsements on the cover also state that Ihe book is "'thor- ough and completely up to date" and "'filled with current, relevant examples." Although this might have been true in 1984 when the second edition was first published, this 1990 publication is clearly out of date. The book is peppered with products such as the transistor radio, safety razor, hi-fi, and automatic washer: with people like the ad man, cobbler, and housewife: and with statements like: "'The client's wile has hmg symbolized irrationality in media decision making."

Dcspitc the age of the manuscript, and in some instances because of it, the reader is able to discern just how many things have remained the same in advertising strategy over the past several decades. For example, Bogart notes that "'A decline in sales or brand share is always likely to produce a shift in advertising strategy . . . Not uncommonly it also leads to a change of agencies.'" This is still true today. Bogart's writing is lucid and his use of personal examples is engaging. No one can deny this book is a classic.

The question remains: Is a classic on advertising strategy, as the promotional material for this text claims, "'ideal for graduate and upper-level seminar,,, that focus on thb, critical

Journal of the Academ~ of Marketing Science Volume 2lJ, Number 2, pages 199-204. Copyright �9 1992 b~ Acadcm? of .Marketing Science. All rights of reproduction in an~ form re~er~ed. ISSN 0092-0703.

advertising issuc?" My answer to this question is no. With- out supplementary reading which bridges the gap from 1984 to the prcscnt, my students would be left with an incomplete and outdated understanding of advertising strategy.

1 may be particularly naive, but 1 think that some respon- sibility lies with the publisher to clearly and accurately rep- resent a book's content to the consuming public. The copyright page of Strategy in Advertising states, "This edi- tion first published in 1990 by NTC Business Books." 1 will leave any decisions on intent to mislcad to the individual readcrs of this review. However, 1 will say caveat emptor.

T. Bettina Cornwel l Memphis State University

Review o f Marketing, Vol. 4

Edited by Valarie A. Zeithaml (Chicago, IL: American Market ing Association, 1990, 536 pp.)

The American Marketing Association's Review of Mar- keting scrics is continued by Volume 4, released in 1990 and edited by Valaric A. Zeithaml. The Review of Marketing began publication in 1978 and was ambitiously planned to be an annual. Since the premier volume, three more have been completed in 1981, 1987, and this most recent book.

The purpose of the Review is to aid researchers in market- ing by presenting articles that integrate the streams of litera- ture that have appeared over the years in various publica- tions. Ahmg with consolidating the current state of research in a certain area into a manageable whole, the articles each provide dircctions for future research.

This newest cdition contains fourtccn revicw articles on topics in consumcr behavior, organizational buying be- havior, distribution, marketing inl~rmation, marketing strategy, and marketing theory. Each of the articles attempts to takc the body of literature in its special area and not only rcxicx~, it, but also classify and organize it. Most of the articles succeed in this undertaking. The best articles are able to cover the breadth of a topic and also add to the current state of knowledge about the topic area. The authors do so by presenting schemata for the different theoretical approaches and then fitting the extant literature into those

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schemata. These schemata oftcn include a number of what were previously presented as distinct and different ap- proaches. In other words, the reviews are able to weave common threads out of the body of research for the first time.

Some of the bcst review articles are in the consumer behavior chapter. The lead paper. "Two Routes to Pcrsua- sion Models in Advertising: Revicw, Critique, and Research Directions," by Deborah J. Maclnnis and Bernard J. Jaw- orski, does an extremcly thorough job of looking at the literature in that area. The authors present the models that have been used and match each picce of literature with its theoretical parentage. Maclnnis and Jaworski also present a model that successfully integrates the others in the field. The authors' synthesis is excellent, and their analysis is clear.

Another excellent review is providcd by Youjae Yi. It is titled, +'A Critical Review of Consumer Satisfaction." The author has condensed the work in 154 different articlcs in the area of consumer satisfaction. Again, the literature is classified by its theoretical basis, and then a synthetic model for studying consumer satisfaction is developed. A trame- work is built for understanding the literature in the field, and directions for further research are given.

Also among the best of the reviews in the book is tt~c one by Gary L. Frazier, Kirti Sawhney, and Tasadduq Shervani, "Intensity, Functions, and Integration in Channels of Dis- tribution." Channels of distribution is a more compact body of literature in marketing than is consumer behavior, but it is still complex. The authors have developed a framework for channels and then placed the literature within it. This article goes a long way towards a comprehensive pedagogi- cal model of channels of distribution. Again, directions for future research are provided.

The best examples in the book meet all of the goals of the series. They synthesize what is out there and re-present it in a readable and understandable form. The authors find the underlying structure in the literature and delineate il. The less successful articles are unable to bring the same level of clarity to their complicated areas or they impose an artificial and seemingly forced structure on the information. Most of the articles shed light on their topic areas. A few merely add to the existing confusion. The best (or worst) example of this is Noel Capon and Elizabeth Martin's review of public and nonprofit marketing. The authors give us 38 pages, really nothing more than a long list, of public/nonprofit papers in ever2,' category under the sun. They admit that the discipline is not a cohesive one and seem unable to define any sort of framework for the field. Maybe public/nonprofit marketing is just not ready for a synthesis, and the editor could have done better by scheduling it for Volume 5.

Another small complaint with the book is its abundance of typographical errors. They are distracting.

On thc whole this latest Review of Marketing provides an excellent refresher course for a returning researcher. II a l so

could be helpful to doctoral students who are trying t,~ tie together the strands of a topic after reading the literature. The review articles in this volume will not substitutc for reading the originals, but thcy can act as a guide to direct a reader through the available research to a higher level of comprehension.

Leisa R. Flynn Florida State University

An Analytic Approach to Marketing Decisions

by Robert F. Dyer and Ernest H. Forman (Englewood Cliffs, N J: Prentice-Hall, 1991, 368 pp.)

This text provides all excellent blend of marketing theory and practice that is easily understood. Noting that marketing education has suffcred from computer illitcracy perhaps more than other business areas, the authors offcr an attrac- tivc remedy--use of the analytic hierarchy process (AHP/ analysis with expert choice ~ECI software. Thcsc are deci- sion support systems <DSS) softwarc applications that are driven by the theory and content of marketing managcmcnt and marketing strategy.

The book has two objectives. Thc first is to introduce readers to components of a marketing decision support sys- tem (MDSSt. Sccond, the text is aimed at teaching the marketing decision making process and how to use MDSS Level Ill (decision analysis) approaches. These objectives may sound complex to readers who are not overly familiar with the use of computer software (the reviewer is onc). However, a reading of the text and practice with its simple- to-understand "'walk through" examples should convince most persons that this is not the case.

In the theoretical section, the authors view DSS as a system intended to support managerial decision makers in "'semistructurcd" decision situations. The systems are meant to be an adjunct to decision makcrs, to extend their capa- bilities, but not to replace their judgment. They are aimed at those decisions where judgment is required--decisions that cannot be completely specified as an algorithm and turned over to the computer. Consistent with this general descrip- tion of DSS is the concept that decision support for market- ing and other managerial functions can be categorized into three levels. The first is data acquisition, storage, and re- trieval, including database management systems and inter- active que~,. The second level is data analysis, finding and analyzing the relationships between variables. Examples in- clude statistical analysis and graphical analysis. Third is decision analysis, prioritization, and choice among alterna- tives. Single-criterion and multicriteria methods such as checklists, pro/con analysis, linear programming, and goal programming are examples. It is thc third level, decision analysis, that is cmphasized by the authors.

The marketing practice section is equally interesting and contains many hands-on applications. Some of the applica- tions are "walk throughs" and are designed to familiarize the reader with expert choice commands requircd to create introducto~ and advanced decision analysis. "['opics include hierarchy construction, judging criteria and decision alter- natives, measuring decision consistency, judgment revision, final priorities and overall inconsistency ratio, and sen- sitivity analysis.

"Walk throughs'" are followed by a comprehensivc set of decision analysis applications organized around stages in- volved in strategic marketing planning--the situation analy- sis, marketing plan, evaluation, and control. They illustrate

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common marketing decision problems, potential AHP mod- els, and a set of exercises and cases to hone the reader's skill with EC and other DSS software. A range of applications is presented, including target market selection, product posi- tioning, life-cycle analysis, retail site selection, and assess- ing alternative distribution channels.

The book comes complete with expert choice software. It can be used as a text in advanced undergraduate and gradu- ate level courses. Marketing consultants and managers should also appreciate this valuable aid to decision making. Dyer and Forman have authored a valuable text which de- serves our consideration and should spread the use of EC and DSS among academics and practitioners alike.

Edward J. Ryan, Jr. Millsaps College

Consumer Culture & Postmodernism

by Mike Featherstone (London: Sage Publications, 1991, 164 pp.)

By now most readers of the Journal of The Academy of Marketing Science have already heard of "postmodernism," though for some its meaning and implications for marketing may remain quite cloudy, if that condition describes you, Mike Featherstone's book is probably not the best place to start in hopes of clarifying the conceptual aspects and prag- matic implications of postmodernism. On the other hand, for those who have previously wrestled with postmodcrnism through readings in philosophy, semiotics, literary studies, anthropology, or other areas, then Featherstonc's book is more easily appreciated and, as such, it provides a number of insights about Western consumer cultures circa 1992.

Featherstone is a British sociologist with interests in cul- ture and contemporary life. A strength of his book is the opening chapter in which he lays out the meanings of the oppositional terms "modern" and "'postmodern." However, his etiology of the postmodern era is incomplete since he focuses almost exclusively on artists, intellectuals, and cul- tural intermediaries (e.g., fashion designers). He gives little attention to other broad scale developments contributing to postmodernism, such as the weakening of beliefs about his- torical and scientific progress (see Ogilvy 1990). Nonethe- less, Featherstone does focus on one particularly salient feature of postmodernism, namely the rise and dominance of consumption as a determinant of the purposes and mean- ings of everyday lilE. According to Featherstonc, advertis- ing and other marketing tools have served to define con- sumer life as an artful project in which each consumer dances back and forth among an ever-evolving array of fash- ions, product styles, brands, and sensations; the postmodern consumer has neither a core personal identity nor the strong cultural norms of yesteryear. In this account, variety seek- ing and novelty are the opiates of the postmodern consumer.

Several of Featherstone's chapters address topics that are immediately recognizable to marketing researchers, e.g., "'Theories of Consumer Culture" and "Lifestyle and Con- sumer Culture." In exploring these issues the author reveals a strong grounding in sociological theory and research

leading to some penetrating interpretive insights about con- temporary consumer life. For example, he discusses theme parks (e.g., Disneyland) as enclaved fantasy environments that permit adults to behave like children through a con- trolled de-control of their emotions. He also notes the com- mon carnivalesque atmosphere of shopping malls where entertainment and buyer behavior interpenetrate and be- come virtually indistinguishable. Uncovering the sociocul- tural significance of these particular consumption develop- ments is Featherstone's chief concern, and on that account he does an admirable job.

Unfortunately, Featherstone's writing style also manages to slip into excessive postmodernistic jargon at times, obscuring ideas that, while they are not always simple, could still be said more simply. For example, he states (p. 128) that postmodernism is a "talismanic concept that incor- porates images of disorder, dissolution, relativism, and fragmentation, which opens up a space beyond the hyposta- tizations of the sytematically and universalizing conceptual arsenal of the modern." Translation: Postmodernism has some central ideas that provide insights that seem unavail- able with those taken strictly from modernism.

Another drawback to the book-- f rom an American's perspective--is the absence of North American consumer research that has contributed to theories of postmodern con- sumer behavior (see, e.g., Belk, Wallendorf, and Sherry 1989; McCracken 1986). One explanation may be that the chapters in Featherstone's book are a compendium of his prior papers, some of which date back to the mid-1980s when the postmodernistic movement in North American consumer research was just reaching its bloom stage.

The book also scores high on redundancy of ideas--a characteristic that some readers will appreciate and others will resent. This may also be due to the nature of the text as a compilation of previously published articles. Scholars of- ten write articles on varied aspects of the same phenome- non, and in the process they tend to repeat certain basic ideas, usually as background for the new points they wish to raise, However, when it comes to a book, one expects less pure repetition and more ascension of ideas as the book unfolds. Thus, one might expect Featherstone to discuss the defining features of postmodernism in an early chapter and then merely reference them in briefer form in subsequent chapters. Yet, on pages 123-124 the reader encounters a discussion of five essential features of postmodernism, de- spite most of those features having already been enumerated in earlier chapters. For this reader such redundancy created a sense of textual misorganization as well as an impression that the book overly concentrates on recirculating its main ideas rather than building upon them.

Despite these drawbacks, ! enjoyed Mike Featherstone's book and concluded that it is a worthy addition to the growing body of scholarship focused on consumer culture in the postmodern world. For those whose understanding of post- modernism is rudimentary at this stage, I would recommend articles by Ogilvy (1990) and Sherry ( 1991 ) prior to reading Featherstone. Ogilvy's (1990) article is a lucid and success- ful attempt at explaining the historical rise of the postmodern era and its significance for marketing practices. Sherry's (1991) article is the most thorough review of empirical con- sumer research dealing with postmodern issues and methods.

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References

Belk, Russell W.. Melanie Wallcndorl. and John F. Sherry. Jr 1989. "]'he Sacred and the Profane in Consumer Behavior: rheodicy on the Odys- sey." Journal ol Consumer Re~earck 16 (March): 1-38.

McCracken, Grant M 1986 "Culture and Consumption: A Theoretical Account ol the Structure and Mo~.ement ol the Cultural Meaning of Consumer Goods" Journal ol Con~unwr Research 13 (March): 71-84.

Ogilvy. Jamcs. I990. ""l'hi,~ Posmmdern Business '" Marl, em~ and Re- watch 7bda~ d:ebruary ): 4 - 21.

Sherry, John I-, .h. 1991. "'Poslmodern Ahcrnativcs: The lnlerprelive "lurn in Consumer Research." In Handhool~ o/ (',,n.~umer Helmvlor. l-ds. Thonlas S. kobcrln,,)ll and Harold H, Ka',s:.lrli:.m. I'ngleu, ood (7lilts, N J: Prentice-Hall. 5,-18 501

David Glen Mick University of Florida

Handbook of Replication: Research in the Behav iora l a n d Social Sciences

Edi ted by Jam es W. Neu l i ep (Corte Madera, CA: Select Press, 1990, 530 pp.)

This book contains 37 papers in celebration of the con- cept of replication in social science. The first eight of these discuss replication issues in social science research while the remaining papers provide examples of replications in four areas: /he "'behavioral sciences," "'psychology," "com- munication," and "'other disciplines." It should be noted that the book as reviewed appeared as a special issue of the Journal rr Behavior and Personalio': however, it has subsequently been reprinted by Sage Publications under thc slightly different title of Replication Research in tke Social Sciences, with a slightly different selection of papers.

Thc book's showpiece is Rosenthal's "Replication in Be- havioral Research" and is the only paper that truly satisfies the "'handbook" designation. It provides a cogent model of replication as well as a description of metrics for appropri- ate replication analysis. Rosenthal brings up a number of interesting issues; for example, he reminds us that effect size, rather than attainment of statistical significance, is the better measure of a study's contribution to its discipline, and that this is especially true when considering rcplications. The paper also devclops thc theme (acknowledged by other papers" authors) that successful replication under d(fferent conditions from those of a given study constitutes a more powerful support for a thcory in qucstion than strict obser- vation of the original conditions. For the metric guidelines alone, the paper should be on graduate "'required reading" lists.

The remainder of the papers in the introductory section lament extensively the lack of publication of replications in the social sciences, especially in contrast to the natural sci- ences. The lack itself is charged both to journal editors, who are said not to accept replications as bona fide contributions to knowledge (a survey in the book reported by Neuliep and Crandall quotes editors as saying replications are "'boring"), and to researchers, who arc said to shun replications be- cause of the high risk involved (i.e., a failure to replicate is at least as suspect of artifact as the original study, while a successful replication is likely to be branded as trivial).

Criticizing such a viewpoint, i.e., that there is insuffi- cient replication in social science, may seem tantamount to criticizing "motherhood," and it is hard to argue that there is "'enough": however, ideas in some of the papers in the book make one wonder if the argument hasn't been taken to extremes. Consider the following:

. . . the results of all (attempted) replications should be published . . " (Amir and Sharon, em- phasis in the original).

" . . . journals should set aside a number of pages in each issue that will be devoted to publishing straight- forward (i.e., precise) replication studies" (Born- stein).

" . . . (one might) offer (one's credentials (to the research community) as a rcplicator" (McKelvie).

Without denying the importance of systematic replica- tion, such statements point to a need to develop a clear understanding of what constitutes a replication and what its role is in the development of a discipline. A number of authors have provided classification systems for diflerent kinds of replications: e.g. , precise vs. imprecise (Rosen- thai); exact vs. conceptual (Hendrick), reproducibility vs. generalizability (Amir and Sharon). Precise replication im- plies strict duplication of the original conditions, while con- ceptual replication suggests extension of a finding to similar but different situations. However, if extensions are included in a count of available replications (studies cited in the book reported finding no replications in social science samples), then the claims that social science eschews replication seem exaggerated. Just the fact that many journals today require effects to be reported as series rather than individual studies points to an institutionalized attempt to provide replication (although as Bornstein points out, this practice does not satisfy the need lot replication across laboratories). While it is undoubtedly true that strict replication rarely occurs in social science, one is at least willing to give journal editors some credit for insisting that replication studies also extend to new conditions or make some additional theoretical point.

A suggestion that the book's concern over replication may be overblown is seen in the replication examples in- cluded in the book itself. Nearly all of the studies offered, presumably as commendable instances of replication re- search, were conducted for some specific reason beyond that of strict replication. That is, virtually every study was designed to pursue some theoretical tack, such as ruling out alternative explanations, determining the influence of con- textual or temporal variables, etc., rather than simply du- plicating an original study. In other words, even the book's own examples of replication were designed to extend earlier work: thus, the loud arguments that there is insufficient replication in social science seem overstated.

At least one paper in the book bears comment in the context of the strict vs. extension replication distinction. Amir and Sharon pursued replications of social science effects in another culture. They report a large study in which they attempted strict replications of U.S.-demonstrated so-

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BOOK RI-VltzWS MAHM( )[ 'I')

cial psychology effects in another country (Israeli. They randomly sampled effects reported in U.S. ,journals and carried out strict replications without any theoretical spec- ulation as to which effects might not replicate because of, for example, known cultural differences: "No hypotheses about specific phenomena which should or should not be reproduced were proposed." Such an approach illustrates why editors might be wary of strict replications. Unsuccess- ful replications here do not allow us to know whether the failures resulted from cultural differences or from the in- ability of the researchers to reproduce the original condi- tions accurately (either because of error or because of inade- quate description in the original work). Incidentally, Amir and Sharon reported that they wcrc only able to replicate about one fourth of the studies successfully and implied that social psychological effects reported in U.S. journals may be culture-specific. Without denying the possibility of cul- tural specificity, this conclusion ignores the many problems the researchers reported they had in ascertaining and re- producing the conditions of the original studies.

Regardless of the position one might take on the strict replication vs. conceptual extension issue, the book's au- thors have appropriately made the case tk)r careful, system- atic replication in social science. I lowever, whether one agrees completely that social science is as negligent on this point as is claimed depends on the degree to which "'exten- sions" can be included in the assessment of replication inci- dence. A few other aspects of the replication issue would have been welcome in the book's coverage, for example, it would be interesting m have discussion of replication's role in post-positivist science as well as in the applied vs. basic science distinction. One critical issue that will definitely need attention is the adequacy of description of research conditions in current social science method sections. If more replications are to be forthcoming, better delineation by .journal authors will be required.

Joel Saegert The University of Texas at San Antonio

The Interface of Marketing and Strategy

Edited by George Day, Barton Weitz, and Robin Wensley (Greenwich, CT: JAI Press, 1990, 453 + xxi pp.I

Marketing has suffered relative b during the last couple of decades both as a managerial responsibility and as an aca- dentic discipline. In each case the reason has been the as- cendancy of strategic management. In the corporate sphere. the accentuated search for competitive advantage has led to an increased emphasis on financial and product portfolio planning and control at the level of the strategic business unit; in the academic sphere, a growing dissatisfaction with the prescriptive simplicities of the marketing concept has resulted in a broader emphasis on the management of the firm. What marketing managers and academicians see as their discipline's extrovert and expansive role has been in- creasingly conceptualized as and channelled into a narrow

functional operation rather than an active contributor to

overall management strategy. Two of the editors of this book (Day and Wensley 1983~

wcrc among the first to point out that the technological and competitive threats to business organization required the expansive outlook and role of marketing as a major man- agerial responsibility for thc 19g0s. That this volume (Vol- ume 4 of the series, Strategic Management, Policy and Planning, General Editors: Howard Thomas & Dan E. Schcndel) dedicated to clarifying and communicating "'mar- kcting's distinctive contributions to the content of strategy and the conduct of research on strategy" is still so obviously necessary suggests that marketing is still being overlooked, r, crhaps because its practitioners have not understood or effectively communicated its role.

Marketing rnaybc viewed narrowly as a technical func- tion of business concerned with the maximization of sales volume, or as an extensive social science in its own right. universally concerned with human exchange relationships. While the debate over thc domain of marketing will con- tinue to excite academicians (Foxall 19891, the task of satis- factorily defining a middle way for markcting, its potential and actual contribution to strategic management, has not bccn fulfilled. But this volume promises to bca landmark in the quest l\)r such a definition.

Two of its sections of invited papers address the strategic relevance of marketing: the third concerns the functional contributions of the discipline. Part I, The Structure and Evolution of Competitive Markets. is devoted to fresh un- derstandings of the competitive marketplace. It contains papers on "Market Structure and Analysis" (Shocker, Stew- art, and Zahorik), "'Rclationships Among ('ompctitors'" {EastonL "'The Impact of Competition on Strategic Market- ing Decisions'" (Rao), and "'Evolutionary Models of Markets and Competitive Structure'" {Lambkin).

Part II, Gaining and Sustaining Competitive Advantage, deals with market-and marketing-based competitive advan- tage. It contains contributions on "'Market Position and Competitive Strategy" (Gale and Buzzcll), "'Modeling ('us- tomcr l,oyalty'" (Kahn and Meyer), "'The Dcsign and Man- agement of Channcls of Distribution" (Frazier), and "'Mar- ket Entry and Defensive Strategies'" (Gatignon and Bansall.

The final part, Formulating Strategy Components, deals with methods of defining and appraising specific corporate options. Papers include "'Market Response Approaches to Market Strategy Decisions'" (Lodish and Hardan), "'Assess- ing Markct Response" (Erickson), "'Positioning Anah'sis and Stratcgy'" (Wind), and "'ldcntifying and Evaluating New Product Opportunities'" (Coopcr).

The marketing concept has often been expressed as the basic truism that customer satisfaction is a necessary prereq- uisite of corporate success. As such it represents a broad program rather than an operational guide, an emergent con- sequent of strategic implementation rather than a detailed prescription. While such expressions once helped delineate and establish marketing as a definitive discipline, they have since proved a restrictive handicap. The papers in Part I perform an admirable service in contributing to the intellec- tual and practical definition of marketing. These papers present approaches to the definition of a strategic role for marketing that goes beyond the advocacy of rivalmus con>

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petition for customers at the tactical level. All four bear serious consideration by marketing teachers and researchers, but I would draw particular attention to Geoff Easton's mas- terful exposition of the nature of competition and com- petitiveness, which will do much to secure intellectually an interactionist approach as a serious paradigm for research in strategic marketing, and Mary Lambkin's valuable applica- tion of contemporary evolutionist thought to the strategic contextualization of marketing activity. Each of these papers lays the basis for a novel metatheory for management re- search.

The four papers in Part I! address the same problem at a level closer to implementation, critiquing the notion that market share is the key to performance and examining alter- native marketing-based sources of strategic advantage de- riving from the management of consumer loyalty and mar- keting channels. Each of these themes is capable of taking research in marketing beyond the sales/technology stage toward the establishment of the wider claims to social scien- tific status that the discipline deserves. It may again be invidious to appear to select among the valuable expositions contained in this Part, but I must draw particular attention to Gatignon and Bansal's integration of constructs and models not only from marketing, but also from economics and or- ganizational analysis, in their consideration of competitive entry. Their integrative paper makes a potentially far- reaching contribution to the synthetic development of man- agement theory.

The papers in the last part, though ostensibly concerned with functional implementation, are far removed from those advocating simplistic prescriptive solutions that character-

ize so much marketing literature. They contain real con- tributions to our knowledge of market response and respon- siveness, and of analysis for positioning strategy. In the last paper, Bob Cooper discusses new product strategy. For sev- eral years now Cooper has been conducting precisely the sort of empirical research required to establish marketing on a basis of fact rather than normative prescription. His work, which has sought to identify the performance outcomes of the available new product strategies and their relevance to particular competitive contexts, is here discussed in terms of its contribution to overall strategic management.

Three distinguished editors have elicited twelve contribu- tions that ground marketing thought in an intellectual foun- dation that can agreeably stand aside inputs from econom- ics, organization theory, and strategic management. This is a book that belongs on the shelves of researchers in market- ing, in academia, and in industry. It will, I am confident, begin to wrest back the intellectual initiative that marketing has forfeit to other disciplines in the attempt to clarify and communicate the essence of strategy.

References

Day, George S. and Robin Wensley. 1983. "Marketing Theory with a Strategic Orientation." Journal of Marketing 47 (Fall): 79-89.

Foxall, Gordon R. 1989. "Marketing's Domain." European Journal of Marketing 23 (8): 7-22.

Gordon R. Foxall University of Birmingham

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