ALBERT

Notes: Considers Australian advertising agency executives' attitudes towards "controversial" clients, by focusing on their attitudes towards political accounts. Examines a sample of 101 advertising agency executives from Australia's 300 largest agencies to determine why some Australian agencies are not willing to accept political accounts. The results, combined with comments from various advertising agency executives and the relevant literature, provide a number of suggestions for agencies who have or are planning to obtain potentially controversial accounts.

Notes: Examines the differences in types of environmental claims used in advertisements in Australia, Canada, the UK and USA. The advertisements are examined using a content analysis schema with four categories (product orientation, process orientation, image orientation or environmental fact) which have been developed and reported in the literature. The four types of environmental advertisements can be "compressed" into two groups: substantive claims (product and process based) and posturing claims (image and environmental fact based). Suggests that claims in advertisements may be a proxy for firm behaviour and therefore firms using substantive claims in their advertisements are more environmentally involved than firms using posturing claims in their advertisements. Finds that US advertisements use the most posturing claims and least substantive claims, with Australian advertisements using the most substantive claims and least posturing claims. This may suggest that US firms (i.e. the companies making these claims) are less environmentally involved compared with firms in the three other countries examined.

Notes: There are a number of impediments to consumer adoption of alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs), including regulatory barriers, resources, infrastructure and vehicle characteristics themselves. These impediments also impact on other stakeholders, such as government, producers (i.e. corporations), suppliers (collaborators), competition (i.e. alternative products) and activist groups. The inter-relationships amongst all stakeholders are complex, as one group may initiate actions that serve as impediments for others. Developing systems-based sustainable alternatives to traditional, environmentally-harmful automobiles requires the network of relationships between stakeholders and impediments to be considered. This paper looks at the various impediments as well as how they can affect various stakeholders. It then posits a broad based integrative approach to provide the most favourable environment for consumers to consider AFVs.

Notes: Manufacturers of consumer goods face various problems when theyattempt to integrate environmental attributes into their marketing mix.In many cases the inclusion of environmental issues in the marketing mixis largely motivated by the organization's desire to address consumers'increasing level of environmental awareness. However, producers facethree problems when they attempt to utilize environmental marketing: alack of credibility; consumer cynicism; consumer confusion over claims.Strategic alliances with environmental groups can assist manufacturersof consumer goods to overcome these problems, as well as provide otheradvantages. These other advantages are: increased consumer reliabilityin green products and their claims; increased access to environmentalinformation; increased access to new markets; publicity and reducedpublic criticism; and education of consumers about key environmentalissues relating to a firm's product. To achieve these benefits,producers need to follow a careful selection process when choosing anenvironmental strategic alliance partner. This selection processincludes: determine alliance objectives; specify outcomes desired; anddetermine the fit between the organization, environmental group, andtarget market.

Notes: Examines whether respondents' attitudes towards companion selling (i.e. suggesting the purchase of a related good) varies based on two hypothetical situations. The results suggest that overall there are some differences in attitudes based on the selling context. However, overall respondents believe that companion selling is generally an appropriate activity and might even contribute to better customer service levels.

Notes: Concern for the environment is gathering in importance within organisations and it is increasingly becoming part of organisational strategic agendas. Within that dynamic, organisations are seeking mechanisms through which environmental concerns are championed and fostered. In this paper, we argue that entrepreneurialism can be an effective such mechanism. But we further argue that this will be predicated on taking a different view of the basis of entrepreneurial behaviour, one that is based on various dimensions of commitment. We posit a model of environmental entrepreneurship and discuss the organisational implications of the model.

Notes: Sponsorship activities have become a mainstream component of the marketing mix. As such, there are attempts to make these activities more effective by leveraging them using advertising, sales promotions, or in an increasing number of cases, through cause related marketing (CRM). This paper explores the relationship between sponsorship and CRM and identifies the potential opportunities that arise from leveraging sponsorships using CRM. The paper also examines the limitations of CRM as a leveraging strategy, puts forward a typology for categorising CRM and identifies some future research issues related to CRM-leveraging of sponsorship.

Notes: Purpose - This paper seeks to examine whether the stakeholder strategy matrix provides useful guidance for managers in dealing with stakeholders. The matrix suggests that strategies for dealing with stakeholders can be determined based on stakeholder ability to cooperate and threaten organisational outcomes. Design/methodology/approach - The study uses a hypothetical scenario looking at the development of a new environmentally friendly product, where eight stakeholder groups and their influencing abilities are manipulated. Marketers reviewed one version of the scenario and were then asked the applicability of 13 strategies for each stakeholder group described. Mixed design analysis is then undertaken to examine the direct effects and interactions between the four combinations of influencing abilities, the stakeholder group examined or how the strategy suggested impacted on managers' views. Findings - The research found that there was an interaction effect suggesting that some strategies were more applicable to stakeholders with certain sets of influencing abilities, as the stakeholder strategy matrix suggested. The specific stakeholder group examined also appeared to impact on managers' views, which is inconsistent with the theory. Research limitations/implications - The limitations are that the research focused on managers' perceptions of the applicability of strategies, rather than the actual success of strategies examined. Research into the effectiveness of actual behaviours would possibly require more in-depth examination of case studies. Practical implications - The research suggests that the stakeholder strategy matrix may provide some guidance as to how managers deal with stakeholders. However, it also suggests that managers may be implicitly applying influencing abilities to groups irrespective of their "true" influencing ability. In this case managers are in fact ignoring valuable information when deciding how to interact with stakeholders and therefore possibly using less effective strategies to interact with stakeholders. Originality/value - The research is unique as it looks at determining whether different types of strategies for dealing with stakeholders are perceived to be more or less effective. This therefore seeks to make stakeholder theory more strategic and applicable in a broader set of contexts. As such the paper would be of interest to managers seeking to understand better how to deal with stakeholders and to theorists seeking to understand better how stakeholder theory impacts on organisational outcomes.

Notes: This paper is an exploratory examination into the purchase of recycled paper within large Australian organizations. In-depth interviews were held with 11 purchasing agents (PAs). The findings of the study tend to support earlier research in this area, which suggests that organizations can be classified into four categories of environmentally responsible purchasing behavior: founder's ideas; symbolism; opportune; and restraint. Understanding the influence of PA's attitudes and perceptions toward environmental product attributes can assist organizations who are marketing such products to become more effective. This study found that while environmental attributes are important, PAs are also concerned with traditional marketing mix variables such as price, delivery and quality. The emphasis marketers give to products' environmental attributes will therefore depend on the firm and PA's environmental involvement.

Notes: Discusses stakeholder theory (ST) in the context of developingenvironmental marketing strategy. ST has not been utilized extensivelyin the marketing literature. Discusses how environmental marketingstrategy can be improved by following the four-step stakeholdermanagement process. This process involves: identifying the relevantstakeholder groups; determining the stake of each group; determining howeffectively the "expectations" of each group are met; anddeveloping corporate objectives and priorities that consider thestakeholder's interests. Through understanding and attempting tosocialize key stakeholders, environmental marketing strategy can be mademore effective. Provides some examples of the stakeholder socializationprocess.