The applications of computer language analysis in studies originated when micro-computing, linguistics and marketing came together. Since the principal element available for studies is language itself, analysts have concentrated upon creating methods and tools which enable them to analyse it. A word's meaning depends upon the context of the other words which surround it; lexicologists have created tools which make the best use of this environment and have applied this to market research. In this way, it has been possible to create new computer programmes which bear little resemblance to software available on the market (word-processing, data bases, translating machines). It was only when users began to have easy access to computers that they concentrated upon the full development of language analysis. It finds its legitimacy not by trying to replace other methods of analysis, but by working alongside them with the aim of obtaining clearer results and responding to the increasing demands of advertisers who want to know, to the exact word, the positioning of their product, the image of their brand or the specificity of their target. The development of computer language analysis is highly dynamic, and one is often surprised to discover how many people are actually working on it.
The applications of computer language analysis in studies originated when micro-computing, linguistics and marketing came together. Since the principal element available for studies is language itself, analysts have concentrated upon creating methods and tools which enable them to analyse it. A word's meaning depends upon the context of the other words which surround it; lexicologists have created tools which make the best use of this environment and have applied this to market research. In this way, it has been possible to create new computer programmes which bear little resemblance to software available on the market (word-processing, data bases, translating machines). It was only when users began to have easy access to computers that they concentrated upon the full development of language analysis. It finds its legitimacy not by trying to replace other methods of analysis, but by working alongside them with the aim of obtaining clearer results and responding to the increasing demands of advertisers who want to know, to the exact word, the positioning of their product, the image of their brand or the specificity of their target. The development of computer language analysis is highly dynamic, and one is often surprised to discover how many people are actually working on it.
Although leisure itself is not as simple to define as might at first appear, there can be no doubt that the leisure industry is one of the few growth areas in most Western countries, reflecting technological advances, de-industrialisation and the shorter working week. Leisure activities can be defined according to where they take place (the home is most people's principal leisure centre) and by the degree of participation required; however, in order to avoid too wide a definition of what constitutes a "leisure time product", the paper suggests it is the specificity of a product or service which should determine whether or not we should regard it as a leisure product or service. On this basis, the key leisure industries are holidays, travel, catering, sports and in-home entertainment. The paper contends there are five groups of reasons which differentiate the leisure industries from other business categories: official control and interference, the influence of external events, the industry's entrepreneurial nature, the closeness of customer contact within the industry and, most importantly, the nature of the leisure product it- self. Leisure markets are more complex than others for the researcher to work in: more specialist knowledge is needed. The successful researcher in the field of leisure needs to cease being purely a market researcher: he or she needs to become as much an expert in leisure as in research.
The success of the market research industry over the past 40 years has led it into techniques and applications which were not anticipated by its original founders. As a result an increasing number of researchers are becoming involved in other related disciplines, which are subject to customs and codes of practice quite different from those used in market research itself. At the same time, growth has increased the impact of market research upon society in general, with the inevitable result that it is not always differentiated from other information- gathering activities; and crude legal restraints remain a continuing threat throughout the countries of Europe. This has been thrown into sharpest relief by issues such as 'sugging' (selling under the guise of research), telemarketing (telephone selling), data privacy, opinion polling, and mystery shopping. But behind these most topical and visible issues, there are an increasing number of other day-to-day dilemmas faced by practising researchers which remain outside the normal scope of market research training and codes of conduct: on these, many researchers are making up their own rules of acceptable conduct because little guidance is available, and there is a lack of consensus over what the conscientious professional should encourage, condone, or reject. In discussing this, and in providing illustrative examples, we do not wish to put a dead hand of moral restraint upon legitimate commercial enterprise; nor to place unwarranted obstacles in the way of the interdisciplinary development of market research. Nevertheless we would assert that there is now a pressing need to define the boundaries of our own discipline of market research, because it is only by appropriate differentiation from other disciplines that its freedom, its reputation, and ultimately its value, can be safeguarded for the future.
The following paper deals with the psychological price research and shows a strategy to increase the effectiveness of price creation under consideration of psychological rules. By varying the price of a certain trial product the effects on behavior and recognition in specific consumer groups were examined. The results showed significantly different reactions among the various groups that have to be considered when creating a price. Furthermore, a method is presented which allows consolidated turnover prognosis at a given price adhering to a combined economic and socio-psychological procedure.
The following paper deals with the psychological price research and shows a strategy to increase the effectiveness of price creation under consideration of psychological rules. By varying the price of a certain trial product the effects on behavior and recognition in specific consumer groups were examined. The results showed significantly different reactions among the various groups that have to be considered when creating a price. Furthermore, a method is presented which allows consolidated turnover prognosis at a given price adhering to a combined economic and socio-psychological procedure.
This paper describes the major contribution made by consumer research to the development and evaluation of an international advertising campaign which has now run successfully in nine countries. The research contribution covers both pre-testing and in-market tracking on a multi-country basis. It is not a dissertation on innovative technique, but rather a description of the effectiveness of the routine but rigorous application of the familiar to a complex international problem. The research reported comprises both qualitative and quantitative communication pre-testing and large scale ad hoc consumer tracking. The results demonstrate the strengths of the campaign which have duly been built upon, and points out weaknesses, some major, which have thereby been eliminated. The paper identifies the success of the campaign both in consumer tracking terms and also with respect to sales performance, as far as confidentiality permits. Its underlying message is that this level of success would not have been achieved without the application of the tried and trusted research techniques that were brought to bear.
There is a large amount of research which deals with the buying behaviour of organizations and which brings to the fore the concept of "Buy grid" where a buying centre and the different phases in the buying process are identified. Our research concerns the application of this concept in the field of buying for resale in France in integrated commerce (hypermarkets and department stores). This is an exploratory approach (case study) built around interviews with buyers and suppliers. We cover the existence of a buying centre, the different buying situations and the phases in the process. Two variables play an important role : - the variables linked to the company, in particular the centralisation or decentralisation of decision making - the variables linked to the environment, particularly the existence of fashion phenomena. However, the exploratory nature of this research, especially where the size of the sample is concerned, limits generalisation.