Reliability in analysis is widely valued. Reliability is returning the same result whenever we test the same thing. I’m not against reliability. Still, it can be overrated as Scott Armstrong explains. We need to ask occasionally: Is Reliability A Good Thing? Or more accurately, how much are we willing to sacrifice at the altar of…
Author: neilbendle
Neil is an Associate Professor Marketing at the Terry College of Business, University of Georgia. He investigates the measurement of marketing performance, the accounting/marketing interface, and the impact of non-standard decision making in commercial and political markets.
Neil is the Chair of the Marketing Accountability Standards Board advisors. He is co-author of Marketing Metrics: The Manager’s Guide to Measuring Marketing Performance (3rd edition) Wharton School Press and is co-author of a cartoon book: Behavioural Economics for Kids.
Implementing Marketing Analytics
Cesar Brea’s book, Marketing and Sales Analytics, is a practitioner’s take on analysis. He discussed implementing marketing analytics. Conversations With Experts Indeed, a full third just details his conversations with practitioner experts. The work has several points that are worth considering. Brea also includes elements that I would have avoided. The division of marketers into…
Creating Impatience
Many of us have a general tendency towards impatience. This means we overweight the importance of the present over the future. It isn’t challenging to think of examples of this. People consume calories that their future selves will regret. They drink and smoke now gaining modest pleasure. In return, they will suffer massive pain later…
Framing And Product Experience
Framing is an important topic in marketing. At its simplest, research in framing and product experience investigates the impact of information packaging. The same information can have different effects depending upon presentation choices. Of course, as with any important idea, each researcher has their own precise definition. Framing As Description Levin and Gaeth (1988) use…
Evolutionary Metaphors
In his 2003 HBR article Tihamer von Ghyczy discussed the use of metaphors in strategic planning. (Full disclosure in 2003 I took his course at Darden.) Specifically, he is most interested in the use of evolutionary metaphors. How we might describe business ideas in biological terms. Evolutionary Metaphors Aren’t ‘Correct’ One overarching point he makes…
Selfishness And Business
Selfishness, and the absence of selfishness, is a fascinating issue. Simple models typically start with the idea that selfishness is a universal quality. This is termed unbounded selfishness. The evolutionary logic of this is superficially appealing. Sacrificing for others without a payback seems doomed. (Assuming selection pressure is strong). Thus, selfishness and business are assumed…
What Is Antisocial Punishment?
Why do people punish others when it costs them to do so? This is one of the most important questions in social life. We tend to do the right thing when we are confident that we can’t cheat without being punished by bystanders. This helps hold society together. People who punish despite there being no…
Faking Market Share
I enjoyed Peter Thiel’s Zero to One which he wrote with Blake Masters. Thiel seems more interesting than most business leaders. The book spews out ideas in a slightly haphazard, but never boring, fashion. (To be clear I’m pretty sure I disagree with him on an awful lot of issues, but still think it is…
Social Influence And German Soccer Referees
One of the most interesting aspects of social life is how crowds influence us. We may even end up doing something that isn’t in our best interests. To examine this Thomas Dohmen looked at social influence and German soccer referees. Referees Want To Be Impartial Dohmen suggests, reasonably enough, that referees really do want to…
Consumer Reactions To Shipping Charges
Shipping charges are a vital consideration for online marketers. They are most interested in understanding consumer reactions to shipping charges. Consumer Reactions To Shipping Charges Academic marketers haven’t done as much work on the topic as one might expect. As Lewis, Singh, and Fay note, “Shipping charges are an important but under-researched element of the…
