This study examines the formation of feelings of serendipity in buying behavior. In particular, based on the perspectives of previous research in information science and interpretative consumer research, this study proposes that feelings of serendipity are formed under the influence of an unexpected meaning creation process that comprises three elements, namely, (1) encounter with a product; (2) connection between the product’s cultural meanings and self; and (3) formation of a positive outlook in life based on the consumer’s life project. This model is demonstrated through two illustrative cases of purchasing. This model suggests that understanding consumers’ life projects enables marketers to strategically design encounters with products to facilitate feelings of serendipity.
早期公開
In community-based marketing, the new marketing framework presented in this study is as follows: (i) in term of the creation of value, it views a product from the perspective of solving the life issues of the customer base by including augmented products; and (ii) in terms of communication and delivery of value, a company forms a community with customers who are interested in and empathize with the value that the company creates and who can be constantly connected through social media services, apps, and other digital means. There, interactions among customers are born and new value is created. It is managed by proactively collaborating with other companies toward creating innovative values. We believe that this framework accurately describes the ongoing marketing activities of companies.
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This study examines how the performance of startups during the time period up to their initial public offering (IPO) is affected by the macro environment, a topic that has not been given much consideration to date. Taking the end of 2012 (the beginning of Abenomics), when Japan’s economic environment shifted to a hot market, as the transition point, we analyzed companies that did IPOs in terms of such variables as the target market, the attributes of the companies in the sample (type of entrepreneurship), and the date of their actual establishment. We found that for those companies operating in an economically favorable environment, the average time period from startup to IPO was relatively long. This could be because an economically favorable environment and improved business conditions spurred startups that had been implementing a wait-and-see attitude. We have some reservations about using “time to IPO” naively as a performance indicator, and caution should be exercised when using it.
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In solar cell manufacturing from the late 2000s to the early 2010s, the turnover for top manufacturers implied that it was only a matter of years before they went out of business. In general, many tend to believe that top manufacturers went bankrupt because of the bubble and burst caused by policies intended to promote and control the PV industry in various countries; however, considering that solar cells can be sold in any country worldwide and the global market for solar cells continues to expand, the ups and downs of solar cell manufacturers cannot be explained by the bubbles and bursts of individual countries alone. In fact, (i) while the turn-key solutions of Western manufacturing companies facilitated market entry, in China, people witnessed successful companies and imitated them to start their own businesses. Many of these companies launched and entered the market one after another in a short time span, thereby causing companies in other countries to go bankrupt due to low prices. However, (ii) even these Chinese firms have been experiencing a decline in capacity utilization amid a chronic oversupply caused by vigorous entrepreneurship, and top manufacturers have collapsed due to minor setbacks that later proved catastrophic.
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The number of gas stations (GS) in Japan has halved in the last quarter-century, as price competition has made selling gasoline unprofitable. Further, the Japanese government has formulated a policy to end the sale of gasoline and diesel-powered vehicles by 2035. Under these circumstances, Yamahiro, a GS company, (A) according to non-oil services, divided its GSs into three groups, namely, car inspection/testing, car washing/coating, and car rental, and further increased the specialization of each station by focusing on the services it offers; (B) not reduced the number of employees at the station despite operating self-service GSs and introduced the vehicle identification system and vehicle information management system to improve the profitability of its non-oil services by linking these systems; (C) utilized the vehicle data to create synergies between the car-rental business and used car sales business; and (D) increased the number of GSs by taking over unprofitable stations from wholesale dealers of oil products and retraining their entire workforces. As a result, the company expanded its business in Tokyo area, presently earning 40% of its profits from non-oil services, and won the Japan Quality Award (JQA).
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Where is Abernathy and Utterback Model?
公開日: 2013/10/15 | 12 巻 5 号 p. 225-236
Atsushi AKIIKE
How to Use Models of Organizational Decision Making?
公開日: 2014/08/15 | 13 巻 4 号 p. 215-230
Kenichi KUWASHIMA
The concept of community-based marketing
公開日: 2022/06/15 | 21 巻 3 号 p. 61-73
Kenshi Miyazoe
The Right to Repair, the Right to Tinker, and the Right to Innovate
公開日: 2020/08/15 | 19 巻 4 号 p. 143-157
Masayuki Hatta
Deep web, dark web, dark net
公開日: 2020/12/15 | 19 巻 6 号 p. 277-292
Masayuki Hatta