Purpose: A growing number of consumers expect brands to take a stand on social issues. When Gillette launched its video with a social message in 2019, the popular press described it as divisive and controversial. This study aims to examine themes behind the polarized consumer response, aiding...

Purpose: The purpose of this research is to explore the experiences of women who participated in a competitive retail shopping event. Design/methodology/approach: The grounded theory approach was used. Findings: Interpretations of the data suggest that female consumers use competitive shopping...

Purchasing practices of 11 Saudi Arabian corporations were analyzed and compared to a similar study of US‐based purchasing managers. Major findings revealed that training is not highly formalized, provided mainly by outside experts and relies on US‐based professional associations such as...

Success in business markets demands going beyond satisfactory exchanges with customers. Conventional wisdom therefore dictates that firms must build close customer relationships. Yet, unfortunately, the meaning of a close relationship from the customer's viewpoint can get lost in translation. We...