Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to integrate literature in the pioneer brand advantage area with the literature on reference prices to examine how reference prices work in a pioneer and follower brand context. There is evidence to suggest that pioneers have a psychological advantage...

Innovation policy has received little attention in the business press. The business press generally focusses on how to play the game of ew products best, rather than considering how the rules of the game might be changed. Might it be possible to stimulate more innovation by reforming...

Patent law is a topic that seems to frighten many managers, who seem to have largely abdicated the topic to engineers and attorneys. Presents an overview and analysis of patents to help educate managers on this topic. Discusses patent application, patent strategy, patents and the marketing mix,...

The Supreme Court has made its first ruling on “trade dress”. Trade dress was defined by the Supreme Court as “...the overall image of the business”. The Court granted protection to a Mexican restaurant in Texas and barred a competitor from duplicating its total image. Summarizes the...

Purpose – This paper aims to bring together and evaluate the reasons that have historically been advanced to justify the heavy emphasis on innovative consumers within the general context of the adoption of products and services, and to assess the strategic benefits to be gained from targeting...