Holistic Marketing Management Volume,1 Issue 2, 2011

CONTENT Theodor Valentin PURC!REA

Editorial: Editorial: A very special event, Dies Anniversarius 20 Years Anniversary of the Romanian-American University....

3

John L. STANTON

Advertising to the older consumer becomes more important......

5

Marius Dan DALOT!

Considerations concerning the management of resistance in organizations...............................................................................

Papuc MIHAI

Mutations in the preferences of romanian population for foreign brand products ..............................................................

Theodor Valentin PURC!REA

16

22

LAUDATIO, Professor John L. STANTON, PhD – Honorary Member

of

Romanian

Scientific

Society

of

Management (SSMAR)...............................................................

28

.......................

Tudor EDU Costel I., NEGRICEA Nicoleta R. DUMITRU

The strategic marketing plan - an essential tool for all small and medium enterprises (SME)...................................................

31

Emanuela Maria AVRAM Remus Marian AVRAM

Quality management in higher education institutions.................

41

Cristina NEAGOE

The importance of brand equity in the era of plurivalent relations ......................................................................................

Mariana ENU"I

Portability of Knowledges in Applications of Innovative Small and Medium Enterprises..............................................................

Raluca Cristina EFTIMIE

Ivona STOICA

48

53

The role of the external factors in anticipating and explaining the behavior of the e-learning platform’s users..........................

59

Online instruments in quantitative research...............................

65

The responsibility of the scientific content and the authenticity of the publishied material and opinions expressed rest with the author.

Editorial Board of “Holistic Marketing Management” (A refereed journal published four times annualy by the School of Management-Marketing of the Romanian-American University) Editor -in-Chief Theodor Valentin PURC!REA Editorial Board Bernd HALLIER

John SAEE John L. STANTON Léon F. WEGNEZ Dana ZADRAZILOVA Riccardo BELTRAMO Sinisa ZARIC Gabriela SAB!U Hélène NIKOLOPOULOU Irena JINDRICHOVSKA Vasa LÁSZLÓ Peter STARCHON John MURRAY Kamil PÍCHA Constantin RO"CA Dumitru MIRON Valeriu IOAN-FRANC Iacob C!TOIU Gheorghe ORZAN Virgil POPA Ana-Maria PREDA Ileana PONORAN Ovidiu FOLCU# Doini$a CIOCÎRLAN Marius Dan DALOT! Mihai PAPUC Gheorghe ILIESCU Alexandru IONESCU Olga POTECEA Oana PREDA Nicoleta DUMITRU Monica Paula RA#IU Costel NEGRICEA

Managing Director EuroHandels Institute Retail, Germany; President of EuCVoT ; President of European Retail Academy; Member of the Astana Economic Scientists Club Association of Management and International Association of Management, USA; Australian Graduate School of Entrepreneurship, the Faculty of Business and Enterprise, Swinburne University of Technology; Member of France’s National Academy of Scientific Research (CNRS) Chair of Department of Food Marketing, Erivan K. Haub School of Business, Saint Joseph’s University Philadelphia, USA International Association of the Distributive Trade, AIDA Brussels; Member of France’s Academy of Commercial Sciences Dean of Faculty of International Economic Relations, University of Economics, Prague, Czech Republic University of Turin, Italy University of Belgrade, Yugoslavia Memorial University, Grenfell Campus, Corner Brook, Canada University of Lille 3, France Deputy Head of Department of Business Economics, University of Economics and Management, Prague, Czech Republic Szent Istvan University, Hungary Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia Faculty of Business, Dublin Institute of Technology, Ireland

Faculty of Economics, University of South Bohemia in Ceske Budejovice President of Romanian Scientific Society of Management- SSMAR Academy of Economic Studies in Bucharest National Institute for Economic Research, Romanian Academy; Romanian Marketing Association Academy of Economic Studies in Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies in Bucharest Valahia University of Târgovi#te Romanian-American University Romanian-American University Romanian-American University Romanian-American University Romanian-American University Romanian-American University Romanian-American University Romanian-American University Romanian-American University Romanian-American University Romanian-American University Romanian-American University Romanian-American University

Associate Editors Cristina NEAGOE Dan SMEDESCU Art Designer Director Alexandru BEJAN Holistic Marketing Management

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Editorial: A very special event, Dies Anniversarius - 20 Years Anniversary of the Romanian-American University The Aula Magna of the Romanian-American University (RAU) hosted Friday, April 15th 2011, the ceremony of 20 Years Anniversary, the whole family of the RAU (faculty, students, alumni) together with its special guests from the Romanian and American Higher Education environment honoring the memory of the Founding-President and Rector of the RomanianAmerican University (1991-2008) Professor ION SMEDESCU, ancestral lamp carrier and keeper of the Romanian spirituality, who lived with intensity, making a constant and coherent effort to transpose in the academic landscape powerful ideas specific to the „cultural architect” that is his beloved „Marketing”, advocating for „intelligent growth”, and often speaking of the necessity of the conscious sense of the ordinance, of the beauty, in order to perform a task the right way.

Following a presentation of the history of RAU, all the participants have contributed to the emotional moments, sharing the excitement of celebrating the jubilee age reuniting friends of the RAU from all continents of the world. It is also worth mentioning that the RAU’s Anniversary Volume enjoyed a warm reception from all the reading public, proving once again that reading has to be really enjoyed on an individual level thanks to the passion and enthusiasm conveyed by the authors who worked on this „case”... 20 years!

Within the calendar of events dedicated to the RAU's 20th Anniversary, on Tuesday, April th

12 , an impressive launch of a „Marketing” (english version) book took place, book written by a group of authors under the coordination of Professor Ion Smedescu. „Respect”, „communication”, and „accountability” were the key words on this special occasion. The late RAU President and Founder, Professor Ion Smedescu did set himself as a standard becoming voluntarily accepted by his colleagues, bringing all of them renewed trust, hope and inspiration, year by year. Professor Ion Smedescu did so much for the Romanian American University and its students, showing an extraordinary intellect, a strong commitment and dedication to providing a quality education, sharing a true love of learning and for the University and bringing a real sense of belonging to all those privileged for participating in the academic life.

As “Holistic Marketing Management” Journal of RAU’s Management-Marketing School did take the challenge of making Professor Ion Smedescu’s dreams coming true, two distinguished Members of the Editorial Board of our Journal honored us by visiting RAU, in May and June 2011, and

working

with

us

and

our

students:

Professor

John

L.

Stanton

PhD

(www.holisticmarketingmanagement.ro/hmm/News/Entries/2011/5/24_Professor_John_L._Stanton, _Chair,_Department_of_Food_Marketing,_Saint_Josephs_Universitys,_Philadelphia,_a_special_in vitee_of_the_Romanian_American_University.html) Holistic Marketing Management

and

Professor

Bernd

Hallier

PhD 3

(www.holisticmarketingmanagement.ro/hmm/News/Entries/2011/6/3_Professor_Bernd_Hallier,_a_ distiguished_Member_of_the_Editorial_Board_of_Holistic_Marketing_Management_Journal_of_t he_RAUs_Management-Marketing_School.html).

Theodor Valentin Purc!rea Editor - in - Chief

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ADVERTISING TO THE OLDER CONSUMER BECOMES MORE IMPORTANT Professor John L. Stanton, Ph.D.* Professor of Food Marketing, Erivan K. Haub School of Business Department of Food Marketing Saint Joseph's University, 265 Mandeville Hall, 5600 City Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19131-1395 Phone: (610) 660-1607 Fax: (610) 660-1997 jstanton@sju.edu Abstract In many parts of both the more developed nations and the less developed nations the average age of the populations is increasing. Some researchers argue that research on mature consumer's buying behavior and attitude is scarce. Other researchers discuss the development, importance and impact of marketing to senior citizens with particular emphasis on demographic change. The purpose of this paper is to examine exactly what types of advertising elements are most impactful with older consumers. The objective of this study is twofold. First, we will attempt to identify which executional alternatives are most effective (as measured by recall and persuasion) for older consumers. Second, we will quantify the effectiveness of these executional alternatives such that future advertising executives will have a guideline that they can use to more accurately predict how consumers in these age cohorts may react to an advertisement that does or does not contain the given element.

Key words: consumer, advertising, population JEL classification: M31, M37 Introduction The world is aging! In many parts of both the more developed nations and the less developed nations the average age of the populations is increasing. While this has had a dramatic effect on many aspects of society, it will also impact how the older consumers react to and respond to advertising. Some researchers suggest that given the increasing number of older individuals, the exploration of age differences in attitudes toward ‌ is critical. (Lapel, 2011) Some researchers argue that research on mature consumer's buying behavior and attitude is scarce. (Holmlund, 2011). It has been shown that the Sociodemographic trends mean that the 50+ age group are wealthier and now enjoy high per capita incomes. Some large firms are now exploiting the opportunities within this market.

(Charton, 2011) The key issue is whether small firms are also revising their marketing practices in response to socio-demographic change. Equally significant are both the large and small firms adjusting the way they communicate and advertise to the older consumer.

Some researchers are being more proactive in their findings. Meiner et.al. discuss the development, importance and impact of marketing to senior citizens with particular emphasis on demographic change. (Meiner, 2010)

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The purpose of this paper is to examine exactly what types of advertising elements are most impactful with older consumers. While this paper does not dwell on the reasons for the aging populations some background may provide context for the analysis.

According to a United Nations report, "Population ageing is unprecedented, without parallel in human history—and the twenty-first century will witness even more rapid ageing than did the century just past. Population ageing is pervasive, a global phenomenon affecting every man, woman and child—but countries are at very different stages of the process, and the pace of change differs greatly. Countries that started the process later will have less time to adjust." (United Nations, 2002).

Key factors leading to global aging There is not one single factor that explains global aging but clearly there are two key factors. One primary factor is fertility decline. Over the last half century, the total fertility rate decreased globally by almost half, from 5.0 to 2.7 children per woman. Over the next half century, it is expected to drop to the replacement level of 2.1children per women. In the more developed countries fertility is significantly below the replacement level. (United Nations, 2002) In countries like Singapore, women are paid to have children to increase the fertility rate and stem the aging issue.

A second and more obvious factor is that people are living longer. Over the last five decades, life expectancy at birth increased globally by almost 20 years, from 46.5 years in 1950-1955 to 66.0 years in 2000-2005. On average, the gain in life expectancy at birth was 23.1 years in the less developed regions and 9.4 years in the more developed regions. On average, at current mortality rates an individual born in the more developed regions is now expected to outlive by almost 12 years an individual born in the less developed regions.

(United Nations, 2002) It appears that while some countries may be more impacted by the aging population, all countries are impacted. Table 1 shows the percentages of the population that is 65 or over for the year 2000 to 2050. As one can see globally the percentage of over 65 will more than double and in some regions of the world over a third of the population will be over 65. Japan will have the highest percentage over 65 with more than 36% of their population over 65. Romania is not far behind Japan. The percentage of the population over 65 in Romania in 2005 was 19% and predicted to be over 34% in 2050 and older than the eastern Europe average of 23% . In the year 2000, there were approximately 35 million individuals aged 65 or older in the United States (US Census Bureau 2002b). They head over 18 million households in the United States and in 2010, 1 in 7 Americans were 65 or older. In the next twenty years, the number of individuals aged 61-79 will grow by 90% (Lach 2002).

The issue is whether Romanian marketers will change TV commercials executional elements to create recall and persuasion from when there were only 14% of the population over 65 in 1975 to something different when 23% of the population in 2025 will be 65 or older. If they are going to change what is the most effective way to garner the older population's recall and persuasion.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the extent to which 65 year old and over consumers respond to various executional elements in television advertisements. The key to this analysis is the rich data provided by a commercial advertising testing agency. The data were obtained from a large-scale study on advertising effectiveness, as measured by recall and persuasion.

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Literature review Researchers have studied and written extensively on how various age groups differ from one another in terms of attitudes, experiences, information-processing ability, consumer tastes, and musical tastes (Cole and Balasubramanian 1993; Holbrook 1993; Holbrook and Schindler 1989; Meredith and Schewe 1994; Ryder 1965; Yoon 1997).

In general, how any advertisement is executed may have a significant impact on the persuasiveness of the commercial. For any given ad, one consumer may enjoy the humor, another may appreciate the product information, while still another may like to see a favorite sports star as the spokesperson. These and other executional elements used by advertisers may be more or less impactful for different viewers. While there are countless ways in which we can divide the consumer world to compare one group of consumers to another, this study focuses on the unique perceptions that different age cohorts have about various executional elements in advertising.

Age-related differences in perceptions of advertising are of particular interest to advertising professionals. When advertisers purchase airtime, they make a request for a show that, for example, targets women 18 to 45. Similarly, when advertisers purchase space in a magazine, one of the first questions asked is the age demographic which the particular magazine is designed to target. Individuals who are in the same age cohort have similar life experiences and have reached similar life stages as other members in the cohort.

Because of this, different age cohorts are likely to view the executional elements in advertisements differently from one another. That is, certain appeals, music, and images are likely to work better with people in a similar age cohort. The purpose of this research is to investigate some of the similarities and differences in how people in different age groups view certain advertising elements.

Marketers need to better understand older consumers in order to develop product, distribution, pricing, and promotional strategies that better meet the unique needs of this segment. It has been found, for example, that older consumers prefer situations in which they perceive that they have an established relationship with a particular retailer or manufacturer (Medina 1997). Advertisers also need to better understand the particular characteristics of advertisements that older consumers find most appealing. The consequences of not doing so could be devastating to a company that relies on the older market for a significant portion of their business. According to one study, fully one-third of older people said that they deliberately did not purchase a product because the older actors in the ad were portrayed in a negative light (Beck 1990). Although this example is only one executional element in a vast assortment of elements that are potentially available to the advertiser, a better understanding of which elements work and do not work for this group would certainly be advantageous.

The objective of this study is twofold. First, we will attempt to identify which executional alternatives are most effective (as measured by recall and persuasion) for older consumers. Second, we will quantify the effectiveness of these executional alternatives such that future advertising executives will have a guideline that they can use to more accurately predict how consumers in these age cohorts may react to an advertisement that does or does not contain the given element. Other researchers have addressed memories and recall for various historical events as a function of age (Schuman and Scott 1989).

However, these previous researchers have not examined how age differences relate to the effect of various executional elements on the recall and persuasiveness of a commercial.

As a result of our analysis, we will illuminate important perceptual similarities and differences in these age groups.

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Method The data used in this study were provided by RSC, The Quality Measurement Company. Each commercial was coded as to whether each executional element was present or absent in each commercial. Each commercial was categorized by multiple coders. Coders were part of the trained RSC organization. To be considered in the analysis, an executional element must be present in at least 200 commercials, and the interjudge reliability must be at least .80. Also, note that these judges were only used to determine whether the executional elements were present or absent. The persuasion score, or dependent variable in the analysis, was obtained from actual advertising tests conducted on the audience selected by the advertiser.

The research firm used a pool of several hundred TV advertisements, which were previously tested for corporate clients to develop a comprehensive list of different executional elements that are present in advertisements. The research firm used multiple coders to classify these elements, and the resulting list of 24 elements represents the most commonly used techniques (see Table 2). The most commonly used executional element was “Substantive Supers” (i.e., if there were a significant number of supers - more than one sentence - it was considered present) while the least commonly used element was “Convenience in Use” (i.e., if the ad described the convenience/benefit of the product, it was considered present).

Each ad was classified as either containing the executional element or not containing the executional element. If the ad contained the element, the element was considered to be “present” whereas if it did not contain the element, the element was considered “absent.”

Consumers were invited to the testing lab, and after a brief introduction to the study, they rated each of the commercials using the standard copy testing methods employed by the advertising research firm. The number of consumers who viewed a given executional element varied from a high of 440 consumers for “Product Results Demonstrated” to a low of 255 consumers for “Actors Playing Ordinary People.” At the conclusion of the study, participants were debriefed and thanked for their participation.

Dependent Measures Recall. The recall measure assesses the extent to which the consumer can recall the ad, where a higher score suggests that more consumers recalled the ad. The measure itself is referred to as “related recall,” indicating that the consumer must do more than simply recognize the ad by saying, “Yes, I remember it.” Instead, the consumer must prove that the specific commercial was recalled from memory.

Persuasion. Persuasion is the change in potential purchase behavior after watching the ad. This measure is akin to the behavioral intention measure that is used in many consumer research studies in that it measures the extent to which consumers intend to purchase the product. Again, higher persuasion scores indicate that the advertisement persuaded more consumers to change their intentions.

In addition to global recall and persuasion scores, individual item recall and persuasion scores are also calculated for each executional element. These measures represent the average recall or persuasion score for the ad for which the element was either present or absent. Finally, the percentage change scores represent how much the inclusion of the element in an ad either helped or hindered recall and persuasion.

Results Recall in Older Consumers By far, the advertising element that was most effective in terms of recall with the older consumer was “Actor Playing an Ordinary Person” (135% increase in recall). It

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seems that the older consumer is more attuned to seeing people like them…ordinary as shown in Table 4. Other elements that were likely to increase recall for the older segment were “Cute/Adorable” (34% increase) which should be no surprise as this executional element is believed to always grab people's attention of all ages; “Demonstration of Product in Use” (26% increase), “Principal Character(s) Male” (13% increase), “Child/Infant/Animal/Animated” (13% increase), and “Time Until Product/Package is Shown” (13% increase).

As important as what executional elements enhance recall are the elements that seem to detract from recall. As can be seen in Table 5, there were very few executional elements that were detrimental to recall for this group. Advertisements which showed “No Principal Character” hurt recall the most (12% decrease in recall) as it seems that the older consumer wants to see "someone" in the advertisement . Other elements which resulted in a few percentage points decrease were “Time Product was on the Screen” (4% decrease), “New Product or New/Improved Features” (3% decrease), and “Nutrition/Health” (2% decrease). It might be surprising to some that Nutrition and Health is not more important in getting consumers' attention but they are so involved with health and nutrition that it may just fall on deaf ears…or eyes.

Persuasion in Older Consumers The most persuasive element for this group was “Convenience in Use” (99% increase in persuasion). It seems the older consumer wants the products to be convenient as shown in Table 4. This group was also positively impacted by “Product Results Demonstrated” (55% increase), “Brand Differentiating” (54% increase), “Indirect Comparison” (53% increase), and “Actor Playing Ordinary Person” (38% increase).

There were also several elements that were detrimental to persuasion. Older consumers did not seem to respond favorably to “Humorous” ads (37% decrease in persuasion), “Nutrition/Health” claims (28% decrease), or ads which had a very short time until the “Product/Package was Shown” (25% decrease), shown in Table 5.

Discussion A review of these findings indicates that older consumers are somewhat inconsistent in their recall and persuasion. For example, of the five most important elements in recall and persuasion none appear in both top five. This obviously makes creating advertising for older consumers more difficult. The elements that seem to get remembered are not the same ones that impact persuasion and therefore intention to buy!

A similar situation is true for the "lowest five" executional elements or the ones which have the most detrimental effect on recall and persuasion. Only Nutrition and Health appear on both the recall and persuasion list. This is the most perplexing to the author. One would expect that this executional element would have the most appeal to older audiences.

Clearly more research needs to be done in this area.

The creation of effective advertisements is both an art and a science. It is hoped that the conclusions and recommendations reported in this study will result in the development of better science in advertising. In developing better science, advertising creatives can focus their efforts on what they do best; the art of advertising.

Limitations Any consumer researcher knows that the answer to almost any question about how a consumer might behave is, “It depends.” Age differences are but one means by which we can analyze how consumers might recall and/or be persuaded by a given executional element. Further, variations in the viewing environment, in the type and duration of ads

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that come immediately before or after the ad, and in the number of times a consumer views a particular ad can all have a big impact on group similarities and differences. Instead of issuing global edicts as to how an advertiser should or should not approach older consumers, this research provides guidance on what appears to be effective and ineffective. By offering some guidelines that may help the creative person in making more effective ads, we believe that we can allow that person to better focus their talents in creating such ads.

Bibliography: [1]. Beck, Melinda (April 23, 1990), “Going for the Gold,” Newsweek, 115 (April), 74.

[2]. Ian Chaston. Older consumer opportunities: small firm response in a selected group of UK service sector markets The Service Industries Journal. London: Feb 2011. Vol. 31, Iss. 3; pg. 371 [3]. Cole, Catherine A., and Siva K. Balasubramanian (1993), “Age Differences in Consumers’ Search for Information: Public Policy Implications,” Journal of Consumer Research, 20 (June), 157-69.

[4]. Holbrook, Morris B. (1993), “Nostalgia and Consumption Preferences: Some Emerging Patterns of Consumer Tastes,” Journal of Consumer Research, 20 (September), 245-56.

[5]. Holbrook, Morris B., and Robert M. Schindler (1989), “Some Exploratory Findings on the Development of Musical Tastes,” Journal of Consumer Research,16 (June), 119-24.

[6]. Holmlund M, A Hagman, P Polsa. An exploration of how mature women buy clothing: empirical insights and a model Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management.

Bradford: 2011. Vol. 15, Iss. 1; pg. 108 [7]. Lach (2002). “Dateline America: May 1, 2025.”

[8]. Karen Leppel, Donna W. McCloskey. A cross-generational examination of electronic commerce adoption The Journal of!Consumer Marketing. Santa Barbara: 2011. Vol. 28, Iss. 4; pg. 261 [9]. Medina, Kurt (1997), as quoted in “Marketers Reveal Industry Dos & Don’ts; Say Capitalize on Relationship Building,” Selling to Seniors: The Monthly Report on Marketing, Silver Spring, MD: CD Publications, 97-11 (November), 1-2.

[10]. Meiner H, B Seeberger. Marketing to Senior Citizens: Challenges and Opportunities, The Journal of Social, Political, and Economic Studies.

Washington: Fall 2010. Vol. 35, Iss. 3; pg. 293, 36 pgs [11]. Meredith, Geoffrey, and Charles Schewe (1994), “The Power of Cohorts,” American Demographics, 16 (December), 22-31.

[12]. Ryder, Norman B. (1965), “The Cohort as a Concept in the Study of Social Change,” American Sociological Review, 30 (December), 843-61.

[13]. Schuman, Howard, and Jacqueline Scott (1989), “Generations and Collective Memories,” American Sociological Review, 54 (June), 359-81.

[14]. United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs World Population Ageing: 1950-2050, 2002 [15]. U.S. Census Bureau (2002b), “Census 2000 Profile http://www.census.gov/main/www/cen2000.html.

[16]. Yoon, Carolyn (1997), “Age Differences in Consumers’ Processing Strategies: An Investigation of Moderating Influences,” Journal of Consumer Research, 24 (December), 329-42.

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Table 1 Percentages of population 65 years of age or older Region

2000

2050

World

7

16

Eastern Asia Southern Asia Southeastern Asia Western Asia

8 5 5 5

23 13 16 11

Europe Eastern Europe Northern Europe Southern Europe Western Europe

15 13 15 16 16

29 28 27 34 29

Latin America North America Africa

5 12 3

17 21 7

Japan Romania

23 18.8

36 34

Source: United Nations, World Population Ageing: 1950-2050

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Table 2.

Definition of Executional Elements.

Executional Element Definition Brand Differentiating

If the ad has a message differentiating it from other brands Number of Brand Name Mentions If the # of mentions in the ad exceeds 3, it is considered present Time Until Category Identification If the category is mentioned before 4 seconds, it is considered present Time Until Brand Name Identification If the brand is mentioned before 5 seconds, it is considered present Time Until Product/Package Shown If the package is shown before 5 seconds, it is considered present Time Product on Screen If the total time that the product is on screen exceeds 6 seconds, it is considered present Number of On-Screen Characters If the number of on-screen characters exceeds 3, it is considered present Nutrition/Health If a nutrition/health claim is mentioned, it is considered present Convenience in Use If the ad described the convenience/benefit of the product, it is considered present New Product, New/Improved Features If the ad announced that some aspect of the product was new or improved, it is considered present Product Double-Branded If both the company and brand are mentioned, it is considered present (e.g., P&G’s Tide) Setting Related to Product Use If the setting relates to the use of the product, it is considered present (e.g., food in the kitchen) Substantive Supers If there are a significant number of supers (more than one sentence), it is considered present Cute/Adorable If, in the opinion of the raters, the ad sought to be cute, it is considered present (e.g., pictures, music, or theme) Humorous If, in the opinion of the raters, the ad sought to be funny, it is considered present Indirect Comparison If a comparison is made between brands, but does not mention the other brand by name, it is considered present (e.g., “the best�)

Demonstration of Product in Use If the product is shown in the ad being used, it is considered present Product Results Demonstrated If the results of the product are demonstrated, it is considered present (e.g., the floor is clean) Principal Character(s) Male If principal character is male, it is considered

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present Actor Playing Ordinary Person No Principal Character Background Cast No Particular/Neutral Setting Child/Infant/Animal/Animated

If principal character is playing an ordinary person, it is considered present If there is no principal character, it is considered present If there is a background cast in the ad, it is considered present If there is no particular setting to the ad, it is considered present (e.g., a white background) If ad included children/animals/animation, it is considered present

Table 2.

Average Recall Scores for Older Consumers.

Older Consumers Avg 1.89 Executional Element Brand Differentiating Number of Brand Name Mentions Time Until Category Identification Time Until Brand Name Identification Time Until Product/Package Shown Time Product on Screen Number of On-Screen Characters Nutrition/Health Convenience in Use New Product, New/Improved Features Product Double-Branded Setting Related to Product Use Substantive Supers Cute/Adorable Humorous Indirect Comparison Demonstration of Product in Use Product Results Demonstrated Principal Character(s) Male Actor Playing Ordinary Person No Principal Character Background Cast No Particular/Neutral Setting Child/Infant/Animal/Animated

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Present

Absent

% Change

1.96 1.87 1.94 1.98 2.03 1.84 1.90 1.86 1.95 1.85 2.07 1.93 1.89 2.50 1.97 2.04 2.02 1.99 2.06 4.38 1.74 1.95 1.87 2.10

1.82 1.89 1.82 1.81 1.79 1.91 1.87 1.89 1.88 1.91 1.85 1.83 1.88 1.86 1.88 1.85 1.60 1.84 1.83 1.86 1.98 1.84 1.89 1.86

8% -1% 7% 9% 13% -4% 2% -2% 4% -3% 12% 5% 1% 34% 5% 10% 26% 8% 13% 135% -12% 6% -1% 13%

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Table 3.

Average Persuasion Scores Older Consumers Older Consumers Avg 6.58 Executional Element Brand Differentiating Number of Brand Name Mentions Time Until Category Identification Time Until Brand Name Identification Time Until Product/Package Shown Time Product on Screen Number of On-Screen Characters Nutrition/Health Convenience in Use New Product, New/Improved Features Product Double Branded Setting Related to Product Use Substantive Supers Cute/Adorable Humorous Indirect Comparison Demonstration of Product in Use Product Results Demonstrated Principal Character(s) Male Actor Playing Ordinary Person No Principal Character Background Cast No Particular/Neutral Setting Child/Infant/Animal/Animated

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Present

Absent

% Change

8.05 6.47 5.92 5.76 5.48 6.04 7.17 4.99 12.50 7.37 8.42 6.97 6.63 6.97 4.25 9.06 6.80 8.61 5.99 9.02 6.24 6.30 6.42 5.42

5.23 6.64 7.26 7.22 7.30 6.89 6.00 6.97 6.28 6.03 6.23 6.04 6.40 6.56 6.77 5.93 6.09 5.57 6.77 6.55 6.79 6.76 6.64 6.71

54% -3% -18% -20% -25% -12% 20% -28% 99% 22% 35% 15% 4% 6% -37% 53% 12% 55% -12% 38% -8% -7% -3% -19%

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Table 4.

Most Effective Recall and Persuasion Elements.

Persuasion Older Consumers

Recall Older Consumers

1) Convenience In Use

1) Actor Playing Ordinary Person

2) Product Results Demonstrated

2) Cute/Adorable

3) Brand Differentiating

3) Demonstration of Product in Use

4) Indirect Comparison

4) Child/Infant/Animal/Animated *

5) Product Double-Branded

5) Principal Character(s) Male* Time Until Product/Package Shown*

Table 5.

Least Effective Recall and Persuasion Elements.

Persuasion Older Consumers

Recall Older Consumers

1) Humorous

1) No Principal Character

2) Nutrition/Health

2) Time Product on Screen

3) Time Until Product/Package Shown

3) New Product, New/Improved Features

4) Time Until Brand Name Identification

4) Nutrition/Health

5) Child/Infant/Animal/Animated

5) Number of Brand Name Mentions * No Particular/Neutral Setting*

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CONSIDERATIONS CONCERNING THE MANAGEMENT OF RESISTANCE IN ORGANIZATIONS Professor Marius-Dan DALOT!, Ph.D. Romanian-American University 1B, Expozi$iei Avenue, Sector 1, Bucharest dalota.marius.dan@profesor.rau.ro

Abstract: The difficulty of organisational change is often exacerbated by the mismanagement of resistance derived from a simple set of assumptions that misunderstand resistance’s essential nature. It is suggested that management may greatly gain from techniques that carefully manage resistance to change by looking for ways of utilising it rather than overcoming it. Today, suggestions and prescriptions for managing resistance have left little room for utility in resistance. Traditionally, resistance has been cast as adversarial – the enemy of change that must be defeated if change is to be successful. This article suggests resistance may indeed be useful and is not to be simply discounted. The literature on change management contains numerous prerequisites for successful change, with a predominantly negative view on the issue of resistance to change. Some authors have argued for the positive utility of resistance, but have lamented a lack of management theories which support this view.

Keywords: Management of change, Organizational resistance, Theory of constraints JEL Classification: M10

1. Introduction The literature on change management contains numerous prerequisites for successful change, with a predominantly negative view on the issue of resistance to change.

Some authors have argued for the positive utility of resistance, but have lamented a lack of management theories which support this view.

Resistance to change has long been recognised as a critically important factor that can in%uence the success or otherwise of an organisational change effort. Recent researches show that half to two-thirds of all major corporate change efforts fail and resistance is the “little-recognised but critically important contributor” to that failure. Resistance was one of the major impediments to the use of production management techniques by British production managers. Resistance by management and workers was identified as the major impediment to the use of quality management practices in Australian manufacturing industry.

A survey of the literature on change management surfaces numerous prerequisites for change to be successful; the list includes vision, mission, culture, communication, strong leadership, and participation. But the survey reveals little about how such

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prerequisites are to be achieved. One of the main arguments is that if such prerequisites are not present, then change will fail due to what is often termed "resistance to change".

Various types of resistance have been categorised. In most cases, resistance is seen to be problematic - something to be managed and overcome. Some authors have suggested strategies for "dealing with" resistance, consistent with this view of resistance as being undesirable.

The traditional attitude to resistance is that it is something undesirable, to be overcome. Some researches made in the 1960s and 1970s paints a rather different picture of resistance, and shows it has many advantages. There is utility in resistance, but current practice appears to have forgotten the lessons from this research, and resistance is still seen to be problematic. While it is recommended that managers assess "the level of resistance they expect to encounter, rarely is it suggested that the nature of resistance be diagnosed to see if there is any benefit from its utility". Also, there is a tendency amongst managers to approach change with a simple set of beliefs that end up exacerbating the problems that arise because they fail to understand them in any systematic manner. One such “simple beliefâ€? is that a change process that occurs with only minimal resistance must have been a good change that was managed well. This assumption is somewhat naĂŻve and belies a common perspective that casts resistance in a negative light. Resistance is often viewed by managers as the enemy of change, the foe which must be overcome if a change effort is to be successful.

Resistance is an expression of reservation which normally arises as a response or reaction to change. This expression is normally witnessed by management as any employee actions perceived as attempting to stop, delay, or alter change. Thus, resistance is most commonly linked with negative employee attitudes or with counter-productive behaviours.

Parallel to these developments in change management theories, another management theory has been developing over the last 20 years, called the theory of constraints (TOC) (Kendall, 1998). Management methodology called the theory of constraints (TOC) views resistance as a necessary and positive force. Reviews how TOC handles the various types of resistance identified in the change management literature, and posit that the TOC framework helps lead and manage change by providing practical guidance on, situational assessment, assumption surfacing, conflict resolution, planning and implementation of successful change.

Central to this methodology is an appreciation of resistance as a necessary and positive element in any change process. According to the theory of constraints, managers need to identify this resistance in its various forms, and use it carefully to test and hone change strategies and action plans, to enable a full, complete and successful implementation that has buy-in from everyone involved. As such, it appears that the theory of constraints may well provide a management model that incorporates the utility of resistance actively, directly and positively.

2. Understanding organizational resistance Resistance has been classically understood as a foundation cause of con%ict that is undesirable and detrimental to organisational health. During the 1940s theorists considered unity of purpose to be the hallmark of a technically efficient and superior organisation, whilst considering pluralism and divergent attitudes as greatly reducing the organisation’s effectiveness and impeding its performance. Resistance was therefore understood as the emergence of divergent opinions that detract from the pro&ciency of the organisation and the resistant worker was painted as a subversive whose individual self-interest clashed with

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the general interest and well-being of the organisation. Resistance quickly became understood as the enemy of change, the foe which causes a change effort to be drawn out.

The prescription of this viewpoint was to eliminate resistance, quash it early and sweep it aside in order to make way for the coming change.

In the years that followed, the conception of resistance to change bene&ted greatly from the application of psychological, sociological and anthropological disciplines to study of management. As the understanding of resistance became increasingly sophisticated, it became clear that resistance is a far more complex phenomenon than once thought.

Resistance was a function of a variety of social factors, including: ! Rational factors: resistance can occur where the employees’ own rational assessment of the outcomes of the proposed change differ with the outcomes envisaged by management. ! Political factors: resistance is also in%uenced by political factors such as favouritism or “point scoring” against those initiating the change effort. ! Management factors: inappropriate or poor management styles also contribute to resistance.

As organisational theory developed over time, it drew attention to the fact that resistance to change is also built into organisational factors. Systems, processes, sunk costs and so on, all contribute to a kind of inertia that in%uences an organisation toward greater reliability and predictability which, in turn, acts against change.

That resistance can play a useful role in an organisational change effort certainly stands juxtaposed to a traditional mindset that would view it as an obstacle that is normally encountered on the way to a successful change process. This is a conclusion reached by a variety of researchers who suggest that there are a number of advantages of resistance.

When managed carefully, these advantages can in fact be utilised by the organisation to greatly assist change.

Resistance points out that it is a fallacy to consider change itself to be inherently good. Change can only be evaluated by its consequences, and these cannot be known with any certainty until the change effort has been completed and sufficient time has passed.

Resistance plays a crucial role in in%uencing the organisation toward greater stability. Resistance is a factor that can balance pressure from external and internal environments to encourage change against the need for constancy and stability. Human systems remaining in a steady state encourage processes and specialisations to stabilise, consolidate, and improve which allows the organisation a level of predictability and control. The challenge means to &nd the right balance between change and stability; avoiding the disfunctionality of too much change while ensuring stability does not become stagnation.

Resistance to a change is not the fundamental problem to be solved. Rather, any resistance is usually a symptom of more basic problems underlying the particular situation.

Resistance can serve as a warning signal directing the timing of technological changes.

The management can use the nature of the resistance as an indicator of the cause of resistance. It will be most helpful as a symptom if management diagnoses the causes for it when it occurs rather than inhibiting it at once.

A further advantage that resistance contributes to the change process is an in%ux of energy. Psychologists have long understood the danger of apathy or acquiescence when there is a need for growth and development. We are all familiar with the classic adage “you can not help the person who will not &rst help themselves”, rather the individual requires a certain dissatisfaction with their current or future states in order to gain sufficient

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motivation to do something about it. In the same way, there is a certain level of motivation or energy required to implement change in an organisation.

In addition to injecting energy into a change process, resistance also encourages the search for alternative methods and out-comes in order to synthesise the con%icting opinions that may exist. Thus resistance becomes a critical source of innovation in a change process as more possibilities are considered and evaluated.

These aspects of resistance make a persuasive case for re-evaluating the classical understanding of resistance. Equally, they call into question the assumption that a change effort that is met with little resistance should be automatically deemed a “good” change.

A lot of suggestion in the management literature is that participative techniques are the best method of handling resistance. Employee participation in management as a means of resolving resistance has been investigated since the mid 1940s. Essentially, the argument behind participative management techniques is that, through a carefully managed process of two way communication, information sharing and consultation, employees tend to become more committed to the change effort, rather than simply remaining compliant with it. Without entering the debate with regard to the pros and cons of participative management styles, it is apparent that such techniques are strongly advocated where resistance is expected to be high. The latent assumption apparently is that the less resistance encountered by a change effort, the better. Very rarely is it suggested that resistance should be utilised.

The fact that management theory has apparently not embraced the notion of utility in resistance suggests that an adversarial approach to resistance, reminiscent of that found in classical management theory, is still the prevalent mindset of managers. Resistance continues to be viewed as the enemy of change that must be “overcome” and participative techniques are the techniques advocated to achieve this end.

Resistance to change is acknowledged as being a fundamental block to change, and a prime reason why change does not succeed or get implemented. Resistance is caused by a number of factors, such as: ! Individual factors: personality factors (high need for control, locus of control, need for achievement etc.); attitudes based on previous experiences of change. ! Group factors: group cohesiveness, social norms, and participation in decision-making. ! Organisational factors: threats presented by the unknown; challenges to the status quo; workload consequences.

There are many reasons why people inside organisations resist change; indeed, it is possible for the entire system which the organisation represents, to be resistant to change if the preparation for change has not been carried out in a manner that does not correctly prepare the organisation for it. Various types of resistance have been identified (e.g.

Kanter, 1985), see Table 1.

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Table 1- Factors causing resistance of change

Source: Victoria J. Mabin, Steve Forgeson, 2001 In order to harness the positive utility in resistance, we need to first treat resistance as positive, and we need to be proactive in dealing with resistance. In order to do this, we need to understand the issues, and the underlying causes of resistance surrounding change.

Though, managers need to engage others in the process to identify resistance in its various forms, and to test and hone change strategies and action plans, to enable a full, complete and successful implementation that has buy-in from everyone involved. It appears that this approach may well provide a management model that incorporates the utility of resistance positively, actively, and directly.

3. Conclusions Resistance remains to this day a complex, multifaceted phenomenon that continues to affect the outcomes of change, both negatively and positively. Although research has procured a solid understanding of resistance and the bene&ts that can accrue to an organisation through its proper utilisation, it appears that the classical adversarial approach remains the dominant means of managing resistance because such learning is not re%ected in modern management techniques.

The resistance management may improve signi&cantly if the adversarial approach is replaced with one that retains the possibility of bene&ting through the utilisation of resistance.

As has already been mentioned before, people do not resist change, rather they resist the uncertainties and the potential outcomes that change can cause. Managers must keep this in mind at all times. Resistance can play a crucial role in drawing everyone’s attention to aspects of change that may be inappropriate, not well thought through or perhaps plain wrong. Managers should be encouraged to search for alternative methods of

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introducing the change. They must communicate and consult regularly with their employees. This is one of the most critical success factors in implementing change in an organisation. Employees must be given the opportunity to be involved in all aspects of the change project and they must be given the opportunity to provide feedback. Teamwork involving management and employees can overcome many of the difficulties experienced by organisations in the past.

Bibliography: [1]. Alexander Styhre, “Non-linear change in organizations: organization change management informed by complexity theory”, Leadership & Organization Development Journal, nr.23/6, 2002, p.343-351, MCB UP Limited [ISSN 01437739]1.

[2]. Dianne Waddell, Amrik S. Sohal, “Resistance: a constructive tool for change management” Management Decision nr.36/8,1998, p.543–548, MCB University Press [ISSN 0025-1747] [3]. Victoria J. Mabin, Steve Forgeson, “Harnessing resistance: using the theory of constraints to assist change management”, Journal of European Industrial Training, 25/2/3/4, 2001, p.168-191, MCB University Press [ISSN 0309-0590]

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MUTATIONS IN THE PREFERENCES OF ROMANIAN POPULATION FOR FOREIGN BRAND PRODUCTS Professor Mihai PAPUC, PhD Romanian-American University 1B, Expozi$iei Avenue, Sector 1, Bucharest papuc.mihai@profesor.rau.ro

Abstract: The alteration of the Romanian consumer behavior, in an economic and social climate generated by the great convulsions of the transition to a functional market economy, but also by the opening of the national borders and by the intensification of Romania’s efforts towards EU and world trade integration, led to a gradual reconsideration of its position towards the trademark. This is considered now an essential instrument for the identification of products, services and organizations and an important mean of quality guarantee for goods and of recognition of a firm’s prestige and fame.

The paper presented below aims to be a brief analysis on the mutations in the Romanian consumers’ preferences for the commercial products made in EU, but also on the influence of the trademark and of the home country over the purchasing of these goods.

Keywords: consumer behavior, brand product, trademark, population categories JEL Classification: M 31 The deterioration of the economic and social climate of Romania after 1989, especially through the depreciation of the national currency, uncertainty of the jobs, the rapid expansion of the underground economy, the inflation and unemployment growth and, above all, through the use of an outdated technology, of an old and unproductive management in the industry sector, determined the Romanians to adapt, in a short period, a buying and consuming behavior totally different from the one previously existing.

The opening of the borders facilitated, during the last decade of the 20th century, an intense traffic of products, firstly at the Hungarian, ex-Yugoslav and Bulgarian borders, and afterwards with rather far countries like Turkey, Poland some countries from the Near East and Asia.

In the same time, in Romania emerged the so-called en-gross warehouses which sold mostly Turkish, Chinese and Arab products. Following, some boutiques and luxurious shops were established by some Western entrepreneurs.

Consequently, the Romanians quickly adapted to the newly created situation and, considering the relatively low prices of the imported products (especially those from China, Turkey and the Arab countries), they turned their eyes on the new offers.

A studys and analysis of some statistic data provided during the period 2005-2010

by IRSOP, INSOMAR, IMAS, CURS, METRO-MEDIA Transilvania, AC Nielsen and the National Institute of Statistic, shows that the Romanians preferred in a 70% ratio the imported cigarettes, cosmetics, perfumes, electronic and electrodomestic appliances, and in

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a 56% ratio the foreign cars. With a very high percentage, but under 50%, the following foreign products were preferred: electric – 46%, detergents – 43%, paints and polishes – 40%, medicine – 31%. Only the craft (71%), furniture (57%), food products (52%), oil products (52%) and the financial and banking services (52%) from the domestic economy were preferred to the foreign ones (fig.1).

After 2000, together with the growth (over 60%) in the trade with the EU member countries, accompanied by an improvement of the living standard of Romanians, their interest migrates, in certain percentages, towards Western European products and, especially, towards Western Union brands. This happened also because in Romania appeared certain consumer categories with high income, interested in quality products, which include technology and bear famous trademarks. So, considering the criteria of buying power (the regional GDP), the way of life, the consume of products (brands) and media, the Romanian population was divided in 5 large categories : ' Active professionals – 14.4%, a group formed of people with an active life, dedicated especially to the career, through which they hope to gain a better social status. They take great care of their image, which they preserve by purchasing goods and services according to their status, and do all they can for reaching their goals; ' Sophisticated consumers – 2.6%, they are successful people, confident in themselves, recognized as so by the others and who display a luxurious life style; ' Passive traditionalists – 26.5%, a group formed of conservators by definition, who apply the traditional values in their own family, nostalgic, distrustful when it comes to new innovative things; ' Sedentary family people – 20%, people who spend most of their time and activities in family, often in front of the TV, they value the security of the group, they tend to buy quality products, but also compromise, especially when it comes to price; ' Resignedly nostalgic people – 36.5%, admirers of the past, do nothing to change the present state of facts.

Among these, only the first two categories and the sedentary family people can actually be taken into account for purchasing brand products, especially from the EU, that is approx. 37% of the total number of buyers. But there is also inside of these groups an obvious stratification, as only a very low percentage (2%) has a monthly income of over 5000 EURO (general managers, heads of departments, owners, managers), a slightly bigger percentage (5%) are people with a monthly income of over 3500 EURO (executive directors, professionals with post-academic studies and specialization abroad, free-lancers), and approx. 10% are people with high education, working for private IT firms, consultants, doctors, lawyers, notaries who have a monthly income of over 2500 EURO. Despite all these, the vast majority of the Romanians can perform an obvious association between the quality of a product or service, their origin and the trademark under which they are sold. The Romanian consumers placed Germany, Japan and USA among their preferences for products that include technology; Italy, France, Germany and USA for clothing and footwear; USA, Japan, Germany, Holland for electronic and electrodomestic appliances; Germany for cars and beer, France for cosmetics and wines, Russia for vodka, Holland for dairy products, USA for cigarettes and Brazil & Columbia for coffee. The Romanians remained faithful to the domestic fruit and vegetables (1st place), dairy (2nd place), some spirits (tuica, palinca) and medicine (3rd place). Concerning the attitude towards trade marks there are few variations in the buying behavior of the Romanians, which need further explanations:

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a. The most powerful association between the quality of the products and the brand is given by the so-called national brands, these being brands of the producer which include technology: cars, electronic & electrodomestic appliances bearers of famous brands (Mercedes, BMW, Bosch, Siemens, Black and Decker); clothing and footwear (Pierre Cardin, Gucci, Hugo Boss, Kenzo, Zegna, Escada); cosmetics (Londa, L’Oreal, Wella, Garnier); some food products: wines, pasta, dairy.

For this category of brands, especially for those belonging to the cars or clothing, the wealthy Romanian consumers are willing to pay large amounts of money in order to buy an ‘original product’. b. Equally appreciated are the global brands, these being the products which are sold over a vast geographical area under the same trademark. We talking, first of all, about Europe, where, because of the abolition of the custom duties and of other commercial obstacles at the borders, the firms are interested in lancing their products as euro-brands.

The advantages of such a strategy (using a global brand) consist in a diminution of costs for standardizing the packing, labeling, promotion and advertising; increasing fidelity towards these products as a consequence of the fact that the people who travel abroad observe that their favorite brands are distributed on some other markets too; they are easier accepted by the local commerce channels because of the publicity on large scale markets. It is also known that a worldwide-recognized brand is by itself a force, especially if the respective firms enjoy a good name in their home country too.

Firms like Procter & Gamble, Unilever, Schwarzkopf, Mars, which entered the Romanian market too, sell their products under the same trademark all over Europe.

It is forecasted that people will be more and more sensible to the global brands considering that their tastes tend to become homogenous because of the fast, modern system of telecommunications and transport. c. Romanians have well-established preferences and make strong associations between the trademark and the country where the products are manufactured, knowing very well that the goods made under license, in cooperation or even just by using the work force from another country don’t enjoy the same notoriety as those manufactured in the home country. At present, the Romanian market is invaded by electronic, electro-technic and electrodomestic appliances, bearing famous trademark (Philips, Sonny, Panasonic, Indesit etc.), but manufactured in Turkey, Poland, Spain and Romania. Some cars also have locations in other countries (Renault in Turkey). Anyway, the Romanians will make more rapidly a buying decision when, on the packing of a product, it is mentioned the home country and not the EU. d. The buying and consuming behavior at the Romanian population is also favorably influenced by the so-called distributor brands (or private brands) when it comes to national or transnational famous companies such as: Carrefour, Selgros, Metro Cash & Carry, Cora, Mega Image which sell products under their own brand or some generic ones (no brand attached). e. A very important role in choosing a certain brand considering the lower prices, is played by the licensed brands like names or symbols previously created by other producers, names of famous people, beloved characters from movies, titles of worldwide, famous books used by certain producers, in order to provide their products with an actual and well-known name.

Most of the times, this procedure is to be found when it comes to selling clothing and accessories, when the names of certain fashion gurus (Calvin Klein, Pierre Cardin, Gucci, Hugo Boss) or their initials appear on underwear, blouses, neck-ties, bags or when

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characters from movies or cartoons (Mickey Mouse, Barbie, the Ninja Turtles, the Simpsons) are present on or as clothing items, toys, stationery, underwear, packages etc.

On categories of products, the preference for certain brands is divided according to different objective or subjective factors, such as: buyer’s income, the culture and civilization degree of the population, the preferences for the producer’s home country, traditions, customs, buying habits.

For example, for big sized and high priced cars and Electro domestic appliances (over 1000 EURO) Romanians prefer national brands which have clear indications about the producer’s home country. In 2010, the most wanted foreign car brands in Romania were Renault 23%, Skoda 15%, Volkswagen 14%, Peugeot 6%, Fiat 4%, Opel 4%, Mercedes, Citroen, Seat, Hyundai, Audi – 2%.

For small sized Electro-domestic appliances (mills, coffee filters, toasters, grills, irons, massage appliances, vacuum cleaners) there isn’t in Romania the perception of an absolute leader, but the market is dominated by two tendencies: a part of the preferences go towards highly superior quality products, especially the German quality of technical objects, with high and very high prices (Brawn, Bosch, Siemens, Moulinex, Tefal, Rowenta, Philips, Black and Decker, LG, Zass), but most of the population with medium and low income are interested in products of the second generation, with good quality, at medium prices, where the home country doesn’t induce very big differences at the chain of distribution level (Solac, Taurus, Elin).

For cosmetic products, the top of the Romanian preferences is as it follows: Avon 12%, Oriflame 11%, Nivea and Dove 10 %, L’Oreal 6%, Garnier 5%, Apidermin 4%, Head and Shoulders, Pantene, Amway 3%, Palmolive, Alix Avien 2%. For hair dye, the brands with spontaneous assisted notoriety are Londa (Londa color), Schwarzkopf (Palette), L’Oreal, Wella and Garnier.

The perfumes are represented in Romania by a very large scale of brands, among which Yves Saint Laurent, Givenchy, Calvin Klein, Nino Cerruti, Giorgio Armani, Nina Ricci, Christian Dior, Elisabeth Arden, Kenzo, Cacharel, Paco Rabanne, Carolina Herrera, Lancôme, Lacoste, Chanel Cartier, Dolce&Gabanna, Davidoff, Azzuro, Trussardi, Boss, Rochas, etc.

For detergents and other cleaning products, the battle is between large international firms: Procter & Gamble, producer and distributor of Ariel, Ace, Bonux, Lenor, Mr. Proper, Tide and Unilever for brands as Omo, Persil, Presto, Skip. For polishers and paints the best sold brands in Romania are Köber 29%, Düfa 22%, Policolor 20%.

For clothing, there are networks of shops in Bucharest, Brasov, Cluj, Constanta (Bliss, Esenza, Alsa Boutiques, Mall) which sell fashion collections usually purchased during fashion parades in Milan or which sell in franchise. The most known brands in Romania are Kenzo, Hugo Boss, Ermenegildo Zegna, Escada. Interesting is the fact that from the total number of people which buy from the luxurious shops, 50-60% from them prefer collection items which, eventually, have also a discount, and 13-30% want to buy only when there is a discount.

For food products, as it was shown, the Romanians generally prefer the domestic products, these having a less toxicity degree because of the pollution. For fruit and vegetables, dairy and few spirits the interest is obviously oriented towards the domestic production. There is also an impressive number of products sold in Romania, bearing a foreign trademark, but which are manufactured in Romania by the big European and American concerns by installing new production units.

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So, the best-sold coffee brands are Elita, produced by Elite Romania, licensed by Elite International B.V. Nederlands and Nova Brasilia and Jacobs, produced and distributed

by Kraft Foods Romania.

For dairy products (pasteurized milk, yogurt, butter, cow cheese), the production and distribution were overtaken in an important percentage – over 50% - by large firms in Europe: Danone – France, Brenac – Greece, Parmalat – Italy, Hochland – Germany.

The best-sold beer brands in Romania are Ursus, Tuborg, Stella Artois, Carlsberg and Gösser. There are still some beer imports from the EU: Heineken, Amstel and Desperado – Holland, Budweisser, Leffe, Hoegarden – Belgium, Guiness, Kilkenny – Denmark, Gösser – Austria.

From the group of spirits (vodka, gin, rum, aperitives) 21% of the total consume is represented by the products imported, the most imported brand being Smirnoff and Rasputin – Russia, Finlandia – Finland, Absolut – Sweden, Tsarkoff – France.

Conclusions After 2000, together with the improvement of the economic and social situation of the Romanian consumers, their interest turned, in a certain way, towards products and services, but especially brands from Western Europe. The most interested in purchasing such goods are the categories of active professionals, sophisticated consumers and sedentary family persons which represent 37% of the Romanian population.

The statistical analysis of some market studies carried on by research firms, well known both in Romania and abroad, such as INSOMAR, IRSOP, CURS, METRO-MEDIA Transilvania, AC Nielsen and the National Institute of Statistic revealed as it follows: ( The most powerful association between the quality of the products and the trademark is given by the so-called national brands, brands of the producers which manufacture the entire production or a very important part of the components in the home country. Second, come the global brands which represent the products sold over a wide geographical area (Europe, North America) under the same trademark, then the brands belonging to the distributors (also called private brands) when these are national or transnational famous companies (Carrefour, Selgros, Cora, Metro, Cash & Carry) and the licensed brands, i.e. the right of using the names or the symbols created by other producer; ( The producer’s home country plays a very important role in the buying decision of the Romanians (if this is identified with the actual production location), especially for products which include technology (preferring the German quality of all the technical products), for clothing and footwear (considering the prestige of the Italian fashion designers and fashion houses); ( An important part of the food products sold on the Romanian market, although bearing foreign brand names, are made in Romania, by taking over some domestic factories by foreign companies or by assembling new production lines (dairy, beer, sausages); ( Romanians’ preferences for few categories of food products: vegetable and fruits, some dairy products, some spirits (tuica, palinca) are exclusively directed towards the domestic production, this fact being explained by the association with the notions of ‘natural’, ‘ecological’, ‘health.’

For the future it is forecasted an obvious increase in the similarity between the Romanians’ and Europeans’ tastes, taking into account the homogenization trend of the

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buying and consuming behavior due to the accession process and to the modernization of the educational, transport and communication system.

Bibliography: [1]. Adam J.M, Bonhome M. – The publicity argumentation, Natham, 1997 [2]. Baker J.M. – Macmillan Dictionary of Marketing and Advertising, Macmillan Business Publishing House, London, 1997 [3]. Bolton M. – The brand name, Mc Graw Hill Publishing House, Paris, 1990 [4]. Kotler Ph. – Management of Marketing, Teora Publishing House, Bucharest, 2007 [5]. Papuc M. – Techniques of international business promotion, ProUniversitaria Publishing House, Bucharest, 2009

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On the 11th May 2011, the Senate of Romanian Scientific Management Society (SSMAR) has awarded the prestigious title of Honorary Member to Professor John L. STANTON, PhD. The President of SSMAR, Professor Constantin RO)CA, PhD allowed us to present the Laudatio made by the First Vice President of the Executive Board of SSMAR, and Vice President of Scientific Council, Professor Theodor Valentin Purc*rea, PhD

LAUDATIO To Professor JOHN L. STANTON, PhD on the occasion of the Honorary Member Award Ceremony Wednesday, May 11, 2011 Romanian American University, Senate Hall Dear Professor Stanton, Dear Professor Ro#ca, President of SSMAR, Dear Profesor Folcu+, Rector of the Romanian-American University, Dear Colleagues, Distinguished guests, It is a privilege for me to read the Laudatio for a distinguished personality in today’s Knowledge Society. The Senate of Romanian Scientific Society of Management (SSMAR) decided unanimously to awards the title of Honorary Member to Professor John L. Stanton, PhD for his outstanding contributions to the ongoing management process responsible for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging valuable offerings for customers, clients, and partners, while considering their lives and the broader economy and society, for his lifetime commitment to teaching excellence and providing managerial consultancies, setting the right marketing management goals, developing multiple perspectives on the food business activities, focusing on strategic issues and communicating the best strategic thinking to marketing managers in order to help them in keeping pace with the rapidly changing field which requires continuous learning, hard work, and dedication.

Dr. John L. Stanton has worked in the food industry as both an academic and practitioner for almost 40 years. He received his Ph.D. in Quantitative Methods and Marketing from Syracuse University, and taught at Temple University in Philadelphia. At Temple he formed the Institute for Food Nutrition and Health and consulted for many of America's largest food companies including Campbell Soup Company, Frito Lay and Kellogg. He then moved to Saint Joseph's University's Department of Food Marketing to accept the first endowed chair in food marketing in the USA. At Saint Joseph's University Dr. Stanton served two terms of chairman of the department and also directed a research center focusing on food and health. At SJU he became the founding editor of the Journal of Food Products Marketing and for about 20 years produced issues devoted to the food industry.

Dr. Stanton has also worked as a food marketing practitioner. He held the position of Vice President of Marketing of an international coffee company, worked in Germany for

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Tengelmann, owner of retail stores throughout Europe, and worked in advertising as director of research of a US advertising agency.

Dr. Stanton has spoken at many major US and international food association meetings and conferences including the International Mass Retailers Association, National Retail Federation, National Grocers Association (NGA), Food Marketing Institute (FMI), Institutional Food Distributors Association, Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), National American Wholesale Grocers Association (now FDI), Snack Food Association, National Frozen Pizza Institute, Private Label Manufacturers Association (PLMA), Produce Marketing Association, National Pasta Association, National Confectioners Association and many others. Internationally he has spoken to food associations in Russia, Germany, France, Argentina, Denmark, Uruguay, Taiwan, Japan, Italy, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Brazil, Italy, Poland, Thailand , Norway, Chile, Sweden, Colombia, Costa Rica, New Zealand, Finland, Mexico, Ireland, Czech Republic and Estonia.

Dr. Stanton has served as an expert and expert witness to many food and beverage companies including Whole Foods, Target, Coca Cola, Ahold, Supervalu, Boars Head, Safeway and many others. Dr. Stanton is also on the Board of Directors for Herr Foods, Premio Foods, David Michael Flavors and the Original Philadelphia Cheesesteak Company.

Dr. Stanton has been regularly quoted in the news media including CNN, the Today Show and NBC Nightly News and has been quoted in Forbes, Fortune, Advertising Age, Brand Week, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and many others. He hosted an episode of the History Channel’s Modern Marvels entitled, “The History of the Supermarket.”

His work resulted also in numerous articles being published in nutrition and health journals including a seminal article in the Journal SCIENCE on sodium and blood pressure as well as articles in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition, Clinical Nutrition, Journal of Chronic Disease, Nutrition Today, Journal of Nutrition Education, Journal of Dietetic Software, Annals of Internal Medicine, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, and the American Journal of Pharmacy. His work has been presented at conferences and proceedings of numerous health and nutrition groups such as Federated Americans Societies of Experimental Biology, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Public Health Association, Health Communicators' Conference, American Federation of Clinical Research, American Academy of Family Physicians, American Society of Nephrology, Southern Medical Association, Society for Nutrition, and the Institute of Nutrition.

Dr. Stanton was also among the first to author articles on health and nutrition advertising claims with articles in the Journal of Advertising Research as early as 1987. As director of the Institute for research in Food Nutrition and Health at both Temple University and Saint Joseph's University he received grants to study the impact of artificial fat, sodium, and other nutrients on various conditions and diseases producing documents such as „The Nutritional Impact of Sucrose Polyester,” Proceedings Medlantic Research Foundation, and numerous confidential studies for food and nutrition companies. He was recognized for his work by Philadelphia Magazine as one of the top people to watch and he is currently working on research related to Vitamin D intake and mushroom consumption and he is examining the impact of front of package nutrition labeling in the USA and the EU. Let me conclude on a personal note. Professor John L. Stanton is one of those persons who understood from the very beginning the words of Philip Kotler: „Marketing takes day to learn. Unfortunately it takes a lifetime to master”. On the other hand, Dr.

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Stanton confirms the fairness of what Michelle Obama (the distinguished wife of the 44th President of the United States of America, Barack Obama – www.afterquotes.com/great/people) recently said: „It's not enough just to limit ads for foods that aren't healthy. It's also going to be critical to increase marketing for foods that are healthy”.

Professor Theodor Valentin PURC!REA, PhD First Vice President of the Executive Board of SSMAR, Vice President of Scientific Council of SSMAR

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THE STRATEGIC MARKETING PLAN- AN ESSENTIAL TOOL FOR ALL SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES (SME) Lecturer Costel Negricea Ph.D Romanian-American University 1B, Expozi$iei Avenue, Sector 1, Bucharest negricea@yahoo.com,

Associate Professor Nicoleta Dumitru, Ph.D Romanian-American University 1B, Expozi$iei Avenue, Sector 1, Bucharest nicoletad01@yahoo.com

Lecturer Tudor Edu, Ph.D Romanian-American University 1B, Expozi$iei Avenue, Sector 1, Bucharest tudoredu@yahoo.com

Abstract: At present, due to the highly competitive environment and a more than ever demanding customer, the marketing approaches considered by the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) must be split into strategic and tactical tools. The first ones must outline the directions, objectives and paths necessary for a medium to long-term development, while the latter should focus on the instruments necessary to achieve the long-term objectives set within the framework established at the strategic level.

Certainly, the most important tool at the strategic level is the Strategic marketing plan. In this paper our goal is to propose a detailed strategic marketing plan which can be used by any SME regardless the type and approached market.

Keywords: Strategic marketing, vision, segmentation, targeting, positioning JEL Classification: M31 For a certain period of time the strategic planning was considered “a must� only by the big multinational and transnational companies.

These big corporations felt the need to use strategic considerations because of their wide geographic presence and consistent portfolios. Each market was targeted through an adapted offer and this approach would have been impossible without a long-term strategy.

Lately, because of the development in telecommunications and the advent of the Internet services, the prospects have become better informed and more demanding. And if only these were not enough, the global business environment suffered serious transformations with great impact on all businesses, directly or indirectly connected to the Global markets.

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These new conditions lead to a new approach from the small and medium enterprises (SMEs), an approach focused on long-term planning as a framework for their sustainable development.

In these conditions, the marketing approaches considered by the SMEs must be split into strategic and tactical tools. The first ones must outline the directions, objectives and paths necessary for a medium to long-term development, while the latter should focus on the instruments necessary to achieve the long-term objectives set within the framework established at the strategic level.

Certainly, the most important tool at the strategic level is the Strategic marketing plan.

In this paper our goal is to propose a detailed strategic marketing plan which can be used by any SME regardless the type and approached market.

The strategic marketing plan should encompass three main parts: A. The Executive Summary; B. The presentation of the current situation through the analysis of the marketing environment; C. The presentation of the strategic marketing proposals/propositions defined for a certain period of time.

A. The Executive Summary The Executive Summary contains the essential details of the strategic marketing plan. It will include a brief description of the identified opportunities and / or threats and their strategic proposals in order for the organization to address them..

B. The presentation of the current situation through the analysis of the marketing environment 1.

Presentation of the situation a. Who are we? b. Where are we? c. How did we get here?

Here, the business line has to be described. The field of activity in which the company activates must be precisely indicated.

If the organisation is a new one, in this stage there should be mentioned the idea and the business field (if it is a company). In this section should be given information regarding the addressed need, the means of addressing it, the organisation and the achievements in other fields, if it is the case. In general, this is the place where relevant information pertaining to the organisation should be mentioned along with the prospect of success with the new idea.

If it is an organisation with a long tradition on a specific market, the main events (both achievements and failures) of its activity within this market should be referred to.

There should also be mentioned the situation of the organisation at the moment when it considers rethinking/reformulating its strategies.

2.

Vision, mission, values, general objectives These dimensions are established for a long period of time. They are revised from time to time, but with a reduced frequency, since any change in any of the components has very important repercussions on the organisation.

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The vision is the dream of the person/persons involved in that particular approach.

The vision, no matter how broad it might be, should be mentioned because it represents the impetus for the whole endeavour. Any action has its origins in a dream/wish which represents the trigger that sets into motion the entire process.

The mission is the implementation of the vision, in other words the mission is the means through which the vision is put into practice. The mission of the company has to be formulated as clearly as possible, it should neither be too broad nor too narrow considering that it represents the message that is sent to all the targeted publics. Formulating the mission involves providing answers to the following questions: Whom do we address to?

What do we offer? How do we offer? Where do we offer?

The values of an organisation are its landmarks that can contribute to the implementation of the mission. They are communicated to the target public/publics, but nonetheless they represent a very important coordinate in conducting the business; e.g.: speed, perseverance, customer orientation.

The general objectives are the ones that are set by the owners or shareholders for the long run (e.g.: 5 years). They arise from the mission and usually they lie within one of the following dimensions: financial, production and marketing. The most commonly encountered general objectives are the financial ones, e.g.: return on investment within 5 years, reaching a turnover of 1 million Euro within 5 years; obtaining a 500,000 Euro profit in 5 years and so on. These are the goals of those who take risks and invest.

3.

Analysis of the marketing environment The following should be surveyed: a. The external environment: i. Macroenvironmentnatural environment, economic environment, technological environment, demographic environment, social environment, political environment, cultural environment, institutional environment (Balaure, et al., 2004, p.

77), global environment ii. Microenvironment- clients, competitors, product suppliers, services providers, labour force suppliers, internet service providers, public authority. iii. Porter’s Five forces model (Porter, 1980 cited in Keegan and Green, 2005, pp. 503-507): 1. Competitors with similar products 2. Threat of new entrants 3. Bargaining power of suppliers 4. Bargaining power of clients 5. Threat of substitute products b.

The internal environment: i. The analysis based on the functions of the organisation: production, research and development, sales, marketing, financial, human resources ii. Organisational chart iii. Relations between: departments, management and operational staff

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4.

SWOT Analysis- the purpose of this analysis is to provide a concise conclusion of the environment analysis a. Identifying the opportunities and threats in the environment b. Outlining the strengths and weaknesses

5.

Segmentation- breaking down the market into homogenous parts: a. The data is obtained through the means of customer research b. The segmentation criteria must be relevant to the company’s offer.

1. The main four groups for consumer market are: i. Geographic: location, climate, urbane density ii. Demographic: age, sex, education, income, occupation, religion, race, family size, family life cycle, nationality (Kotler and Armstrong, 2008, p. 186), social class iii. Psychographic: values, personality, lifestyle iv. Behavioural: knowledge about the product/service, attitudes, usage, loyalty, the step in the buying process, buying opportunities and buying benefits 2. For business markets, the following criteria groups are addressed (Bonoma and Shapiro, 1983): i. Demographic criteria: Market (what kind of business market should the company address?); Company size (how large should the targeted companies be?) Company location (what geographical areas should be addressed?) ii. Operational criteria: Technology (on what kind of technology used by the clients should the company fold?); Type of user (should the company address high-frequency users, averagefrequency users, low-frequency users or nonusers? Customer’s capacities (should customers with substantial needs be addressed or the ones with fewer needs?) iii. Purchasing/buying criteria: Organising the procurement/acquisition function (should companies with a well structured procurement function be addressed?); Power structure (what kind of company should be addressed? technical, financial, etc); Nature of existing relations (which companies should be approached? the ones with which the company has the tightest relations or the most attractive); General procurement policies (which companies should be approached? the ones that prefer the leasing? Service rendering contracts? System acquisitions? Sealed envelope bidding?); Acquisition criteria (should companies that value quality be approached? or the ones valuing service? Or the ones valuing the price?). iv. Situational criteria: Emergency (which companies should be approached - companies that request normal time deliveries or companies that opt for fast services?); Specific applications (which companies should be approached - those that use only some components of the company’s offer or those that use the whole offer?); Order size (which companies should be approached - those that place small orders or large orders?)

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v. Personal criteria: Seller-buyer similarities (which companies should be approached - those that present similarities with respect to people and seller related value?); Attitudes towards risk (which companies should be approached – those that take risks or those that do not?); Loyalty (should companies that show high loyalty towards the suppliers be approached?)

3. For international markets, the following criteria groups are addressed (Kotler and Armstrong, 2008): i. geographic criteria- grouping the countries on areas ii. economic criteria iii. political and legal criteria iv. cultural criteria 6.

Targeting- how do we select our market? a. General approach i. Undifferentiated- approaching the entire market in a unitary way (with a single offer) ii. Differentiated- different approach for each identified segment b. Specialised approach i. Addressing more segments or niches ii. Addressing one segment or niche iii. Addressing each component of the market

7.

Positioning- how do we get a competitive edge? a. The category that includes the offer must be unambiguously indicated.

The category should obviously descend from the business line. b. The goal is the formulation of the competitive advantage c. Porter’s model can be used (Porter, 1985, p. 12). In this sense, one of the following strategies can be used: i. General strategy- of approaching a consistent share of the market -if not the entire market-, through either a low cost or differentiation strategy developed on the characteristics of the offer and interactions between the company and the client (communication, distribution) ii. Focused strategy- of approaching a small share of the market through a strategy focused either on a low cost or differentiation strategy d. Parity and Differentiation Points should be considered (Kotler and Keller, 2006) i. Parity Points- are those advantages that can also be found in the offers of the competition and that can be assessed by the customers through comparison ii. Differentiation Points- are those advantages that can only be found within the offer of the company

C. The presentation of the strategic marketing proposals/propositions defined for a clear period of time 8.

Determining the time frame and the budget of the strategic marketing plan

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a. b. c.

9.

These two dimensions represent the prerequisites of the strategic marketing plan formulation They dictate future objectives and possible alternative strategies In the current economic conditions, a strategic marketing plan should not consider a period exceeding 5 years. A strategic marketing plan should be prepared for a 3-5-year period.

Marketing Objectives- medium term: a. Have to be SMART: i. Simple ii. Measurable iii. Attainable iv. Realistic v. Time-framed b.

They can be quantitative i. Turnover ii. Market share iii. Awareness (Notoriety) iv. Client base etc.

c.

They can be qualitative i. Image

10. Strategic areas of major interest to the organisation a. Determining the general strategy based on resources and market potential: i. Using Ansoff’s matrix (Balaure, et al., 2004, p. 544): 1. Withdrawal from the market, market consolidation and market penetration (existing products-existing markets) 2. Market development (existing products-new markets) 3. Product development (new products-existing markets) 4. Diversification (new products-new markets) ii. Choosing the strategic alternative after performing the SWOT analysis (Bacanu, 1977, pp. 76-77) 1. Aggressive Strategy (strengths-opportunities) 2. Diversification strategy (strengths-threats) 3. Offensive strategy (weaknesses-opportunities) 4. Defensive strategy (weaknesses-threats) b.

Determining specific strategies for the marketing mix in order to highlight the competitive advantage, taking into consideration the following crucial areas for the activity of any organisation: i. The product lifecycle (introduction, growth, maturity, decline) ii. Creating/developing/maintaining the brand iii. Creating/developing/maintaining strong relations with the customers/clients iv. Creating/developing/maintaining strong relations with the partners

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11. Designing the strategic coordinates for each component of the marketing mix: a. Product- Here the planner must be able to answer two simple questions: a. How should we build our offer? b. How should we name and manage the name of our offer? i.

ii.

b.

Offer- all enterprises should focus their endeavours on the number of product variants, degree of novelty and quality 1. The size and structure of the product assortment (Balaure, et al., 2004, p. 347) a. Adding new products/services or new product/service lines b. Giving up some products/services or entire product lines or service lines c. Maintaining the size and structure of the product assortment 2.

The degree of product renewal (Balaure, et al., 2004, p.

347) a. Introducing new products/services b. Modifying existing products c. Maintaining the degree of novelty

3.

The quality level of the products (Balaure, et al., 2004, p. 347) a. Qualitative adaptation b. Qualitative differentiation c. Qualitative stability

The brand- the focus should be on how to name the products included in the assortment and how to manage the name (Kerin and Peterson, 2007) 1. New brand (new brand-new product) 2. Brand expansion (existing brand-new product) 3. Product line expansion (existing brand-existing product) 4. Offensive/Defensive brand (new brand –existing product)

Price- a company should be able to comprehend three things: a. how to establish the price level b. how to manage the price level over time c. how to react against actions from the environment using pricing strategies i.

Strategies for setting the prices 1. Strategies based on the costs of producing and selling the products 2. Price strategies for new offers

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3.

Strategies based on the prices of the competition

ii.

Strategies for modifying the prices over time 1. Strategies that consider the product life cycle 2. Strategies that consider periodic price discounts for promotional purposes

iii.

Offensive/defensive strategies towards/against the actions of the external environment components 1. Offensive strategies towards the competition’s behaviour 2. Defensive strategies against the restrictions imposed by the public authority

c.

Promotion- an enterprise should consider promoting the company and/or its offers or both i. Corporate communication strategies (Popescu, 2001, pp. 153155)- should we communicate with one group or several groups?

1. With a sole target 2. With multiple targets ii. Commercial communication strategies (Popescu, 2001, pp. 153155)- should we communicate about one name or more?

1. With a single object 2. With multiple objects iii. Hybrid strategies

d.

Distribution- an enterprise should be able to answer the following questions: a. How are we selling our offer/s? b. How many intermediaries should we consider? c. Are we going to be able to control the selling process? d. How are we going to handle our good from the production site to the consumer? i.

Distribution channel (Balaure, et al., 2004, p. 422-424) 1. The number of channels used a. Single channel b. Multiple channels - multimarketing or multichannel marketing 2.

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Channel size a. Direct distribution b. Distribution through short channels (a single intermediary) c. Distribution through long channels (two or more intermediaries)

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ii.

3.

The distribution intensity a. Extensive distribution- it seeks broad market coverage b. Selective distribution- it is done through a small number of distributors which are usually specialised in selling particular products c. Exclusive distributionwith a sole intermediary that has exclusivity in selling the product

4.

The company’s degree of participation in distribution a. Through itself b. Through intermediaries c. Through both options

5.

The degree of control related to the channel intermediaries a. Full control (e.g. fully vertically integrated systems) b. Inexistent control c. High, average and low control (concerning: inventories, sales, selling conditions etc)

6.

The elasticity of the distribution apparatus (technicalmaterial basis, commercialisation forms etc) a. High flexibility b. Average flexibility c. Low flexibility

Logistics- physical distribution or plainly “handling of goods�

1. Warehousing 2. Inventory management 3. Transportation 4. Logistics information Management

12. Monitoring the fulfilment of the objectives and the strategic plan review a. The monitoring is performed annually b. The following are being monitored: projecting, applying and fulfilling the objectives that were set in the tactical marketing plans framework required to be constructed based on the strategic marketing plan c. Also, the marketing environment is monitored Instead of Conclusions The present proposal is more than just a theoretical approach of how to develop a strategic marketing plan. Such a plan has been tested by the authors in the IT field for the past 5 years; time in which the practical work has been interweaved with up-to-date theoretical concepts. It is not a perfect instrument but it should be considered suitable for the small and medium enterprises for achieving daring goals in highly competitive environments.

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Bibliography: [1]. Bacanu, B., 1997. Management Strategic. Bucuresti: Ed. Teora [2]. Balaure, V. et al., 2004. Marketing. Bucuresti: Ed. Uranus [3]. Bonoma, Th. V. and Shapiro P. B., 1983. Segmenting the Industrial Market.

Lexington, MA: Lexington Books [4]. Keegan, W. J. and Green, M. C., 2005. Global Marketing. 4th ed. USA: Pearson Prentice Hall [5]. Kerin, R. A. and Peterson, R. A., 2007. Strategic Marketing Problems. Cases and Comments. Prentice Hall, 2007, NY [6]. Kotler, Ph. and Armstrong, G., 2008. Principles of Marketing. 13th ed. NJ: Pearson Ed. [7]. Kotler, Ph. and Keller, K. L., 2006. Marketing Management. 12th ed. NJ: Pearson Education Inc [8]. Popescu, I. C., 2008. Comunicarea in Marketing, Bucuresti: ed. Uranus [9]. Porter, M., E., 1985. Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance. New York: Free Press NY

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QUALITY MANAGEMENT IN HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS Assistant Lecturer Emanuela Maria AVRAM, PhD Candidate, Romanian-American University 1B, Expozi$iei Avenue, Sector 1, Bucharest emanuela.maria@yahoo.it

Remus Marian AVRAM, Phd Candidate Academy of Economic Studies, Pia+a Romana Square, Bucharest remus_airm@yahoo.com

Abstract: Quality in higher education is a high form of service learning, breaking the transmission of information, scientifically, according to labor market needs, while generating maximum consumer satisfaction. OECD says that "a culture of quality in higher education system, shared by the academic management, staff and students, help to strengthen academic quality assurance system," (OECD Thematic Review of Tertiary Education- 2006, p. 9, op. Cit. Sorin-George Toma, Shinji Naruo, 2009, p. 575) which leads to success.

Key words:, quality, higher education, satisfaction JEL Classification: I23, M31 Introduction: Quality and excellence - two vital concepts in the information society in which we live that must be the premise of any system of education in any country in the world - as a quality educational system, able to prepare highly qualified graduates to become competitive worldwide, is a prerequisite ensure of a prosperous future for any nation.

This article is structured in two parts: the first shows the impact of satisfaction on quality, cost and gain in higher education, while the second refers to the academic quality management based on the relationship quality - satisfaction - marketing.

1. Quality - a prerequisite for the development of higher education system Lately, the quality of academic education has acquired a special importance because in a knowledge society all countries face a special situation in education. “The new trends in higher education such as fierce full global competition, lifelong learning, student migration, rapid dissemination of knowledge, internationalization of education, development of higher education as a export-oriented industry, underscores the need for continuous improvement from academic quality."(George Toma, Shinji Naruo, 2009, p.

575) Worldwide, more and more every nation recognizes the great importance that higher

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education has for the economic development because between quality and performance there is a cause-effect relationship. The efforts to improve the quality have often important results in reduced long term costs. Thus, as shown in diagram No.1, the relationship between perceived quality, customer satisfaction, cost and profit is a functional one.

Diagram No. 1 – The impact of quality on satisfaction, cost and earnings

Perceived quality

Cost

Customer satisfaction

Earning

Source: Adapted from: Shah, Abhay (2009) - The Impact of Quality on Satisfaction, Revenue, and Cost as Perceived by Providers of Higher Education, Journal of Marketing For Higher Education, 19: 2, p. 130 Improving quality has direct effects in generating a substantial increase in consumer satisfaction, leading to gains by increasing the number of students, increasing confidence in the institution of higher education, research development and dissemination of knowledge, reducing the cost of promoting and attracting new consumers of higher education services, as consumers' perception about the quality generates reputation for the higher education institution, putting its brand mark on the university. "The brand of a university is a manifestation of the characteristics that distinguish one from another higher education institution, reflecting its ability to meet high-level higher education needs of consumers creating confidence in its capacity to provide a high quality education, helping the consumers to make a wise decisions for their future." (!"#$%& '(%& )*#+,-+.%& /(%& 0& 1,2*33%&4(&5667%&&8(&97:;9::%&+8(&#"3(&Bennett, Roger andAli-Choudhury, Rehnuma, 2009 p. 86) In Example No.1.2 below is shown the activity of quality assurance in Japanese Higher Education System through its internationalization while increasing its number of foreign students studying in Japanese universities.

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Example No. 1.2 – Assesing quality in the Japanese Higher Education System Assesing quality in the Japanese Higher Education System Japan has adapted in what concerns higher education to the European and American model. In 1877 was founded the University of Tokyo. Initially the courses were taught in Japanese universities in a foreign language by teachers from outside the country.

Due to high costs, Japanese students were sent to study abroad, and with the completion of studies to become teachers in local universities. Since 1983 the Japanese Education Ministry had launched a plan to accept 100,000 foreign students to study in Japan in order to develop the infrastructure of Japanese higher education system by increasing the number of foreign students. In 2003, Japanese universities achieved 109,509 foreign students thus reaching the target set by the government. Over time, the Japanese Ministry of Education has recommended universities to adopt a system of self-evaluation in order to develop scientific research. In 2004 there was another university reform when the Japanese government has granted more autonomy for the universities. In this context, quality in Japanese higher education system was asserted by several ! factors: - Japanese higher education massification - ! Internationalization of the university system - ! Important increasing in consumer expectations of higher education services in ! a knowledge based society - Using the latest technology in the provision of information and ! communication - ! The need to obtain international assessment in higher education - ! The need to increase labor productivity - The need to develop research and disseminate knowledge - ! Adapting to new forms of work This internationalization of higher education is the key element of ensuring a high ! level of quality in the Japanese universities, because the acceptance of different cultures enhances the ability of the universities to integrate into an area of intercultural dialogue and mutual acceptance.

Source: Adapted from – Sorin-George Toma, Shinji Naruo (2009) – Quality Asurance in the Japanese Universities, Amfiteatru Econnomic, , Vol XI • Nr. 26 • June 2009, p. 578-82.

2. Higher education quality management Quality management in academic education is to appoint a higher education institution to performance through responsible leadership in pursuing the objectives and adopting strategies that lead to development, encouraging staff to an outstanding performance by empowering each employee, orientation of all the activities, especially the activities of teaching and research to meet the needs of high-level stakeholders, continuous improvement of institutional processes, establishing a system of periodic assessment to cover such shortcomings. In the European higher education system, academic evaluation is presented in three forms: (Buletin "tiin+ific, Universitatea ”George Bacovia” ,i Editura Sedcom Libris, anul VIII nr. 1/2005, p. 21) 1. The evaluation of the forms of activity (lecture, seminar, practical) 2. The evaluation of the study programs

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3.

Institutional assessment - on all aspects of quality processes in university teaching and research, management activities, financial, infrastructure. (Buletin "tiin+ific, Universitatea ”George Bacovia” ,i Editura Sedcom Libris, anul VIII nr. 1/2005, p.

21) "Even before signing the Bologna Declaration, in many European countries, including Romania, there were agencies for assessing internal quality of education institutions and university programs and / or accreditation. The agencies from the European Union countries have set up in the second half of the 1990s a cooperation network called European Network of Quality Assurance in Higher Education – ENQA, and agencies of the countries located in Central and Eastern Europe have established their own networks."(Vl*sceanu Laz*r, 2005, p. 4) The institute for Higher Education of Shanghai Jiao Tong University has achieved a ranking of universities in the TOP 500 depending on their performance taking account of several indicators related to quality education, university teaching and research activities: : (R*zvan Florian, 2006, p. 2) " The number of graduates awarded with the Nobel Prize or the Fields Medal, depending on the graduating year " Number of teachers Nobel Prize winners or the Fields Medal in the year in which award was obtained " The number of teachers considered "highly cited" by ISI " Number of articles published in the scientific journals Nature and Science " Number of ISI indexed articles from the last year " An indicator that reports the number of university academic staff total score obtained on the basis of previous indicators. (R*zvan Florian, 2006, p. 2) In table no. 2.1 below, we can see the number of universities that are the TOP 20 TOP 100 TOP 200 TOP 300 TOP 400 TOP 500 worldwide in 2010.

Table no. 2.1 - Statistics of Universities in the year 2010 by region

Source: http://www.arwu.org/ARWUStatistics2010.jsp - accessed on 09.06.2011 Academic Ranking of World Universities It may be noted that U.S. universities have a record with 17 universities in the Top 20 while Europe is barely present in Top 20 with only 2 universities in terms of academic

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performance according to quality educational services rendered - the quality of information provided to students, the number of successful graduates with Nobel Prize and / or the Fields Medal, academic quality - reflected by the number of Nobel Prize - winning teachers and / or the Fields Medal, the number of teachers considered "highly cited" by the ISI, articles published in journals Nature and Science, research quality - reflected by the number of ISI articles published in a year reported to the number of university teachers, and various other performance indicators of Higher education. The TOP 100, 200 and 300, U.S. universities have a record, according to the same performance criteria, but it can be seen from the table that the record belongs in the TOP 400 European universities exceed by six the number of U.S. universities, and the record belongs to all the TOP 500 European higher education institutions which exceed by 17 the number of American universities and by 98 the number of Asia-Pacific universities.

As we can see in Figure no. 2.2, between the quality of educational service provided - quality that generates consumer satisfaction – and marketing there is a biunivocal connection. (Nicolae Teodorescu, Aurelia-Felicia Stancioiu, Augustin Mitu, 2009, p.414) Diagram no. 2.2 - The relationship Quality Management – Satisfaction Marketing

Source: Adapted from - Nicolae Teodorescu, Aurelia–Felicia St*ncioiu, Augustin Mitu (2009) – Considera+ii privind Managementul Calit*+ii în Servicii ca Instrument de Marketing pentru Cre,terea Satisfac+iei Utilizatorilor de Produse Turistice, Amfiteatru Economic, Vol XI • Nr. 26 • Iunie 2009, p. 414 The link between quality education and consumer satisfaction highlights the difference between the projected quality of the educational services felt by the consumer.

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Consumer satisfaction gradul perception allows the reorientation of marketing in the activities of the higher education institution to a relationship marketing that has results in the specific evolution from the simple consumer of higher education services to a student attached to the university, even loyal, loyalty being one of the results of the perceived higher satisfaction.

The importance of marketing in quality assurance within higher education institutions stems from the following objectives: # Identify the quality level required by market segments that it covers the higher education institution # Identify the needs, desires, preferences of potential consumers of educational services by outlining a profile of academic expectations # Establish a feedback of information from the potential consumers of education so that the quality of university provision of educational services offered in the market to match this level of quality required by the application of total quality management as a marketing strategy of higher education institution.

Consumer satisfaction of university education is based on three variables: " cognitive impairments - high quality provision of educational services provided and performance " affective – student’s feelings in the university campus, the higher education environment, ease of access to different objectives such as cafeteria, library, reading room, various laboratories, gym, etc.. " conative impairments - based on the nature of the relationship between teachers and students, between support staff and students. (Nicolae Teodorescu, Aurelia–Felicia St*ncioiu, Augustin Mitu, 2009, p. 414-415) Conclusion: Quality in higher education - the key element differentiating a university brand from another – should be covered by the university both inside and outside, taking in account the relations with government, business and society as a whole, to prepare graduates capable of coping with increasingly sophisticated jobs required by the evolving labor market. In our view, quality in academia is a mirror of academic performance and in the knowledge-based society higher education institutions tend to achieve the compatibility with the educational systems worldwide, by the introduction of transferable credits and ensuring international dimensions of quality. We appreciate that to achieve high standards of quality is necessary the use of higher education marketing in order to have the ability to anticipate the needs of students and those of potential consumers of education, and the adoption of decisions to allow the institution of higher education better market positioning, gaining reputation among the public and their national and international recognition.

Bibliography: [1]. Bick, G., Jacobson, M., & Abratt, R. (2003). The corporate identity management process revisited. Journal of Marketing Management, 19(5), 835–855.

[2]. Bennett, Roger andAli-Choudhury, Rehnuma(2009) 'Prospective Students' Perceptions of University Brands: An Empirical Study', Journal of Marketing For Higher Education, 19: 1, 86

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[3]. Buletin "tiin+ific, Universitatea ”George Bacovia” ,i Editura Sedcom Libris, anul VIII nr. 1/2005, p. 21, ISSN 1454-5675 - http://www.ugb.ro/etc/issues/issueno12005.pdf#page=14

[4]. George Toma, Shinji Naruo (2009) – Quality Asurance in the Japanese Universities, Amfiteatru Economic, , Vol XI • Nr. 26 • June 2009, p. 575.

[5]. Nicolae Teodorescu, Aurelia–Felicia St*ncioiu, Augustin Mitu (2009) – Considera"ii privind Managementul Calit!"ii în Servicii ca Instrument de Marketing pentru Cre#terea Satisfac"iei Utilizatorilor de Produse Turistice, Amfiteatru Economic, Vol XI • Nr. 26 • Iunie 2009, p. 414

[6]. OECD Thematic Review of Tertiary Education- Country Background Report of Japan, Higher Education Bureau, MEXT, 2006, http://www.oecd.org/document/13 (accessed March 9, 2009), p. 9,

[7]. R*zvan Florian (2006) – Universit!"ile din România #i Clasamnetul Shanghai, Ad Astra 5, 2006, p. 2 http://qwww.ad-astra.ro/journal/8/florian_shanghai_romania.pdf

[8]. Sorin-George Toma, Shinji Naruo (2009) – Quality Asurance in the Japanese Universities, Amfiteatru Economic, Vol XI • Nr. 26 • June 2009, p. 575-82.

[9]. Shah, Abhay (2009) - The Impact of Quality on Satisfaction, Revenue, and Cost as Perceived by Providers of Higher Education, Journal of Marketing For Higher Education, 19: 2, p. 130

[10]. Vl*sceanu Laz*r (2005)– Asigurarea Calit!"ii în Educa"ie, UNESCO-CEPES, Bucure#ti, 22 martie 2005, p. 4, http://bloq.ad-astra.ro/library/papers/vlasceanu.pdf

[11]. http://www.arwu.org/ARWUStatistics2010.jsp - accessed on 09.06.2011!!!!!!

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THE IMPORTANCE OF BRAND EQUITY IN THE ERA OF PLURIVALENT RELATIONS Assistant Lecturer Cristina NEAGOE, Ph.D Candidate Romanian-American University 1B, Expozi$iei Avenue, Sector 1, Bucharest cristina_neagoe2004@yahoo.com

Abstract The interest that the brand has raised comes from the highly visible attempt of organisations to identify means to differentiate themselves in the new economic conditions imposed by the features of globalised markets. This paper presents a vast process of analysis, systematization and synthesis of the theoretical ground, aiming to emphasize the particularities of brand equity in the context of plurivalent relations. Operationally, they become strategic targets. In compliance with the decision-making stage (e.g. brand differentiation, emphasis on the brand benefits, creating brand loyalty, strengthening the brand image etc), communication techniques and tools can be used that allow tactical measures.

Keywords: brand equity, relational marketing, marketing communication, stakeholders’ attachment, plurivalent relations JEL Classification: M31

1.

Introduction:

A global assessment of the concept of brand equity as debated upon in numerous studies entitles us to state that it is a highly complex phenomenon. This is justified by the attributes that define its position, as well as the benefits to the organisation, which are difficult to assess scrupulously.

With the emergence of more numerous formulations of the brand equity concept, the mission to sketch a unanimously accepted definition has become increasingly cumbersome.

The person who introduced the term “brand equity” is David Aaker ( Mazur L. and Milles L., 2007, pp. 29-30), the main purpose being to redefine the brand not in the tactical, but in the strategic context. Thus, if until that moment, image was the main attribute that influenced the buying decision, the author indicates the need of four categories of factors that have to be at work for brand strengthening to be a sustainable endeavour: - creating consumers’ brand loyalty; - raising awareness of the brand among potential customers; - the perception of enhanced quality; - brand association.

From the consumer’s perspective, brand equity is seen as the entire knowledge they have about a brand and which allows for the clear differentiation from its competitors. The reference model is built by comparison with the following factors: brand awareness and its

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image. Brand awareness is the power with which it is represented in the mind of the target market, the ideal being the highest position (top of mind), whereas image represents the rational or emotional perceptions of consumers attached to a brand (Boo S., Busser J., Baloglu S., 2009, p. 221).

Brand recognition Brand awareness

Repeated brand demand

Brand familiarity

Attributes Brand image

Types of associations Unicity of associations

Benefits

Attitude

Fig. 1.: Brand equity from the customer’s perspective (Kevin L. K., 1993 in Shimp T., 2007, p. 34)

2.

Brand equity structure

From the perspective of management decisions to be adopted in order to build brand equity, a series of factors prove to be of essence. In order to maximize the contribution of this research, we have to present the results of valuable scientific studies.

Their synthesis reveals the fundamental attributes that sketch the structure of brand equity in the perspective, which is significantly distinct, of several reference authors.

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Table 1.

Scientific approaches of brand equity strengthening Source

Items of the brand equity structure

Advertising agency Young and Rubicam (Kotler Ph., Keller K. L., 2008, p. 409)

Differentiation, relevance, esteem, recognition;

Biel, 1997 (in Egan J., 2007, p. 81)

Benefits, personality, interactions, experience

Aaker D. (Mazur L. and Milles L., 2007, p. 30)

Loyalty, awareness, association, perceived quality

Millward Brown and WPP (Kotler Ph., Keller K. L., 2008, p.411)

Presence, relevance, performance, advantage, attachment

Interband Global Top 100 (Fill Ch. 2009, p. 378)

Potential intangible gains, brand role, brand solidity

Kevin K., L. (Shimp T., 2007, p. 34)

Awareness, image

The interest raised by the brand comes from the highly visible attempt of organisations to identify means to differentiate themselves in the new economic conditions imposed by the features of globalised markets. Following a vast process of analysis, systematization and synthesis of the theoretical ground, the particularities of brand equity can be extracted. Operationally, they become strategic targets. In compliance with the decision-making stage (e.g. brand differentiation, emphasis on the brand benefits, creating brand loyalty, strengthening the brand image etc), communication techniques and tools can be used that allow tactical measures.

3.

Benefits of brand equity strengthening

Brand equity is one of the most valuable intangible assets of an organisation.

Successful companies have become aware that the resources necessary to strengthen brand equity are one of the safest and most efficient investments for the future. The holistic vision of business models includes all the intangible resources held by an organisation. The relations that the organisation develops both with the internal and with the external environment make the relational capital, and such relations developed around the brand represent brand equity. They are mutually dependent elements, each of them contributing to the development of the other.

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From the organisation’s perspective, the benefits envisaged as regards brand equity strengthening are formulated in two categories: relational marketing results and financial results (Fill Ch. 2009, p. 377). a.

Relational marketing results

Brand equity is a vast objective, which targets results by increasing the value perceived by each stakeholder (Shimp T., 2007, p. 33). The brand is the link between all the members of the relationship network. In this context, it is useful to emphasize the role held by brand equity in reaching relational marketing objectives. A special impact is reflected on invisible and intangible assets such as: trust, satisfaction, loyalty and attachment of all partners on the organisation. In terms of actions, they translate into (Clow K., Baack D., 2010, p. 60): - higher prices; - the creation of a larger general image; - the exertion of power in the relations with suppliers (wholesalers an retailers); - obtaining a bigger shelf selling space; - the reduction of customer migration; - the prevention of market share decrease.

One rule that governs the evolution of an organisation which aims to develop profitable relations in order to gain a special competitive edge is the ongoing observance of the brand promises. b.

Financial results

The financial results are the value of the brand on the market. Many times, the terms brad equity and brand value are used as synonyms. Brand value is the total financial value of a brand. Considering the importance of the concept of brand equity, it is worth noting that there is an important distinction between these two terms, the value brought by the brand being strictly related to the sales ratio.

Therefore, two essential elements are considered when assessing brand equity: the brand value from the financial standpoint and the attributes specific to relational marketing.

4.

Conclusions:

The general framework of relational marketing imposes special attention given to brand equity. It has a special impact on how the organisation is perceived by all categories of stakeholders. Therefore, the creation and development of relations with partners and encouraging their loyalty towards the organisation are targets whose achievement is conditioned, to a considerable extent, by the existence of a remarkable commercial and corporate brand.

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Bibliography: [1]. Boo S., Busser J., Baloglu S., A model of customer-based brand equity and its application to multiple destinations, Journal of Tourism Management, Vol. 30, pp.

219–231, 2009 [2]. Busch R., Seidenspinner M., Unger F. – Marketing communication policies, Springer, 2007 [3]. Clow K., Baack D., Integrated advertising, promotion, and marketing communications, 4th edition, Pearson, 2010 [4]. Egan J., Exploring relational strategies in marketing, 2nd edition, Ed. Prentice Hall, 2004 [5]. Egan J. – Marketing communications, Ed. Thompson, 2007 [6]. Fill Ch. –Marketing Communications: interactivity, communities and content, 5th edition, Prentice Hall, 2009 [7]. Gummesson E. – Total relationship marketing: Marketing Management, Relationship strategy and CRM approaches for the network economy, 3rd edition, Elsevier, 2008 [8]. Keh Tat H., Xie Y., Corporate reputation and customer behavioral intentions: the role of trust, identification and commitment, Industrial Marketing Management, Vol. 38, pp. 732-742, 2009 [9]. Keller K. L., Building strong brands in a modern marketing communications environment, Journal of marketing communications, Vol. 15, Nos. 2-3, April/July 2009, pp. 139-155 [10]. Kotler Ph., Keller K. L., Managementul Marketingului, 5th edition, Teora, 2008 [11]. Linton I., Integrated Marketing Communications, Practice of Advertising, Fifth Edition, pp. 44-58, 2005 [12]. Mazur L. and Milles L., Conversations with marketing masters, John Willz and Sons, 2007 [13]. Palmatier R.W., Interfirm Relational Drivers of Customer Value, Journal of Marketing Vol. 72, pp. 76-89, 2008 [14]. Shimp T., Integrated marketing communications in advertising and promotion, 7th edition, Thomson South – Western, 2007

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PORTABILITY OF KNOWLEDGES IN APPLICATIONS OF INNOVATIVE SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES Junior Assistant Mariana ENU%I, PhD Candidate, Romanian-American University 1B, Expozi$iei Avenue, Sector 1, Bucharest enusi.mariana@profesor.rau.ro Abstract: Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs), is a current concept and has attracted attention of researchers and practitioners, with great resonance in the global economy. In the recent years, there is an increasing interest in the debate on this concept in the context of enlargement concerns the issue of innovation and globalization.

The idea of the project is deeply embedded in Knowledges. If we think about our projects, it is often in terms of the series of knowledge we have worked on. We compare projects: this one was well managed, that one was doomed from the start, and this one introduced new technology based on Knowledges.

Innovative Small and Medium sized Enterprises are able in function to charged with managing the data assets of the intellectual capital of Innovative Small and Medium sized Enterprises, much like human resources manages the personnel assets, projects are likely to be problematic.

Surely mature Innovative Small and Medium sized Enterprises knowledge management function would consist of a set of services that are constantly available to the enterprise, supported by a robust infrastructure, and delivered by well-defined business processes. This is not to say that projects do not have a role in Innovative Small and Medium Enterprises knowledge management.

Key words: Innovative Small and Medium sized Enterprises, project, knowledge management, intellectual capital JEL Classification: A1 - General Economics The Small and Medium Enterprise’s knowledge management demands more than the status quo.

The idea of the project is deeply embedded in Knowledges. If we think about our careers, it is often in terms of the series of projects we have worked on. We compare projects: this one was well managed, that one was doomed from the start, and this one introduced new technology based on Knowledges. It is almost as if working on projects is unquestioned. Yet, there are reasons to doubt the wisdom of the project approach, and it is legitimate to ask if working through projects is really suited to the way of Innovative Small and Medium Enterprises knowledge management (ISMEKM) should be conducted.

If Innovative Small and Medium Enterprises are to be a horizontal function charged with managing the data assets of the organizations, much like human resources manages the personnel assets, projects are likely to be problematic. Surely mature Innovative Small and Medium Enterprises knowledge management function would consist

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of a set of services that are constantly available to the enterprise, supported by a robust infrastructure, and delivered by well-defined business processes. This is not to say that projects do not have a role in Innovative Small and Medium Enterprises knowledge management.

However, Small and Medium Enterprises knowledge management are unlikely to be successful if it is simply a pool of resources with skills like data modeling that can be placed on general IT projects that are essentially self-contained silos. In the short term, such a project-driven Small and Medium Enterprises knowledge management unit may deliver value and may well be perceived as successful if the projects are perceived as successes. Yet, in the long term, nothing is done to help manage the Innovative Small and Medium Enterprises information assets.

Indeed, being project driven simply helps to create the “data mess� that so many Small and Medium Enterprises knowledge management find themselves in today, where nobody knows very much about intellectual capital.

When the only constant is change, knowledge becomes not just important, but indeed vital for the very survival and future success of Innovative Small and Medium Enterprises. While that, in itself, is hardly a new realization, the pace of new insights from current research as well as new applications of knowledge management in practice continually raise the bar for what it means to be leading the way. And only those organizations that are at the cutting edge will be able to beat the competition.

What is a Project?

Projects are a very attractive way of working. After all, there are special features of projects in Knowledge Management. The major one is that Knowledge Management projects have been oriented to the development of applications. In this context, the Systems Development Life Cycle was developed and became recognized as the way in which an Knowledge Management project was run.

A project consists also of legal, technical, economical, financial and environmental and in the case of public investments social-human analyses. A model of the structure of the project investment is presented in the following figure. # Milestone Schedules; # Relationship of Planning and Control. # Project Specifications; Reasons for project planning A critical stage of any project is the planning stage. Planning is determining what needs to be done, by whom, and by when, in order to fulfill all necessary requirements for project completion on time. The desired results of project planning are to: 1. Eliminate or reduce uncertainty; 2. Improve efficiency of the operation; 3. Obtain a better understanding of the objectives; 4. Provide a basis for monitoring and controlling work.

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Enviromental Data -impact studies, -level of pollution, laboratory tests and measurements recyclability, eco-eficiency.

Virtual Part (data bases, drawings, written parts on magnetic support- cd-s, optical disks, etc.)

Economic Data value, costs, income, profit, amortization, management organization.

Drawings (schetches, drawings, plans, etc.)

Legal Data Ownership rights, full or partial, work relationship, Legislation for work, working contracts, commercial contracts, industrial property, etc.

Technical Data -characteristics -novelty, technical realizability, quality, fiability

Writen Documentation Module (description, calculus, tabels, analyses, pre-feasibility studies, feasibility studies, valuation reports contractes, etc.)

Project Structure

Project Planning # Reasons for project planning; # Project Specifications; # Milestone Schedules; # Relationship of Planning and Control.

If the tasks are well understood prior to performing them, many of the activities can be preplanned. If they are not understood, during actual task execution, more knowledge is learned which leads to changes in resource allocations, schedules, and priorities. Therefore, the greater he task uncertainty, the greater the amount of information that must be processed in order to insure effective performance.

Project Specifications Specifications should be listed separately for all individual inputs for the project. They are used for man-hour, equipment, and material estiates. They are standards for pricing out proposal. The customer is interested in the specifications to know how the project money is being spent and if the appropriate levels of perormance are being sought.

Milestone Schedules Project milestones (critical points in time) include the start date, end date, other mahor milestones and other data points such as mid-projects reviews or other periodic reports.

Figure. 1. The structure of a project

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Relationship of Planning and Control As with all plannig, the project plan is the basis for control mechanism for the project manager. The plan gives expected results at various milestones and if the results are not attained, the project manager must investigate to find out whay the planned result did not occur. Of course, the reason could be due to an unrealistic or unworkable plan, but no matter what the reason, the non-attainment causes much consternation in the everall project scheme.

Each element of the project must be accomplished to attain the ultimate project goal of a maketable product, installed assembly line, or traned interns. The overall plan may have to be reworked to compensate for the missed milestone or incoplete component upon which further project progress depends.

Control mechanism for measuring project progress and ultimate success should be developed directly from the project plan. Any other control measures may well be unrealistic and may even be harmful to the project if they don’t contribute to keeping the project on track and keeping it moving toward ultimate completion.

The planning and control system must provide information that: # Gives a picture of work progres; # Will relate cost and schedule problems; # Identifies potential problems with respect to their ssources; # Provides information to project managers with a practical level of sumarization (no open ended problems); # Demonstrates that the millestones are valid, timely and auditable.

Innovation in Small and Medium Business stimulates economic develop The microeconomic factors such as differentiation occurs between firms that have innovative technologies, to the detriment of traditional capacity to know and use these technologies, but using traditional equipment.

Enterprise is an innovative knowledge-based information activities with research and development of new products, processes and technologies in all fields with qualified senior personnel, registered positive results in their research, especially through the portability of knowledge acquired through previous projects completed the ongoing projects, bringing added value through patents, licenses, software, products, processes, innovative company.

Figure. 2. The Portability of Knowledge in applications of Innovative Small and Medium Enterprises

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In my opinion all Small and Medium Enterprise innovation based on intellectual capital is defined by: patents, licenses, concessions, copyrights, software used by its employees. Therefore all of these assets are used as the primary component and business process knowledge by transforming the potential intellectual capital in intellectual capital usable without enterprise value.

In Innovative Small and Medium Enterprises, the budget is the primary concern of operational purposes and it should have the largest interest of development and innovation expenses for more projects. Results of finnished projects can be analyzed through a Knowledge management performance evaluation from intellectual capital, technology, process perspectives, registers, reporting, financial consolidation, forecasting budgeting and planning aimed primarily at executives .

Conclusions Technological limits the importance of new trends in traditional economies of scale of large companies, for profits generated by the trend towards flexibility and innovation, the ability to adapt to different situations in the world market and focus on consumer needs, the opening for acceptance of risks to the introduction of use of new technologies and innovative management methods characteristic of small and medium enterprises globally, the trend would be ideal to be manifest in Small and Medium Enterprises in Romania.

Nevertheless, Innovative Small and Medium Enterprises project require particularly systematic and effective knowledge management, if they are to avoid knowledge fragmentation and loss of organizational learning.

Project management applications provide clear benefits for Innovative Small and Medium Enterprises by simplifying complex analysis and providing best practice measures and techniques. But the Knowledge Integration benefits of implementing these Knowledge Applications can be outweighed by the drawbacks of ”stovepipe” data stores unless the Innovative Small and Medium Enterprises implement the applications as part of an overall Knowledge Landscape.

We revealed that processes of the capture, transfer and learning of knowledge, in project settings, rely very heavily upon social patterns, practices and processes, in ways which emphasize the value and importance of adopting a community-based approach to managing knowledge. This paper made a contribution to the development of knowledge management theory, within project environments.

To achieve this, key Innovative Small and Medium Enterprises must work closely with the project personnel responsible for the company's overall Knowledge Integration strategy. It should be the responsibility of the chief financial officer of Innovative Small and Medium Enterprises to represent the business and work with Knowledge Landscape projects to ensure that performance of Knowledge Management systems are deployed successfully.

Bibliography: [1] Danciu, A., R., Niculescu Aron, I., G., Gruiescu, M.,- Statistic! $i Econometrie, Editura Enciclopedic*, Bucure#ti 2007; [2] NUSI, M., - Portability of Best Project based on Knowledge integration, Knowledge related issues abound in Knowledge applications of Small and Medium Enterprises, [3] McCollum James K., B*canu Cristian S., - „Project Management A Practical Approach”, Editura Universitar*, Bucure#ti 2007;

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[4] Parr, R., L., Smith, G., - Intellectual Property: Valuation, Exploitation, and Infringement Damages: 2009 Cumulative Suppliment, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken New Jersey, U.S.A., 2009; [5] Razgaitis, R., - Valuation & Dealmaking of Technology based-Intellectulal Property: Principles, Methodes, Tools, John Wiley and Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey, U.S.A., 2009; [6] Ruxanda, Gh., - Analiz! Multidimensional! a Datelor, Editura ASE, Bucure#ti 2005; [7] Sandu, S., Ioan-Franc, V., - Creativitatea $i inovarea - experin%e europene, Editat de Centrul de Informare #i Documentare Economic* Bucure#ti, 2006; [8] Van der Have, R., Toivonen, M., Tuominen, T., - Dimensions of Service Innovation, SSRN, 2008; [9] Wright, K., - �Personal knowledge management: supporting individual knowledge worker performance�; Knowledge Management Research & Practice 3 (2005);

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THE ROLE OF THE EXTERNAL FACTORS IN ANTICIPATING AND EXPLAINING THE BEHAVIOR OF THE E-LEARNING PLATFORM’S USERS Raluca Cristina EFTIMIE, Phd. Candidate Academy of Economic Studies, Pia+a Romana Square, Bucharest raluca.cristina.eftimie@gmail.com

Abstract: In a knowledge-based society the role of learning performance is always highlighted. The development of education and its adaptation to the real necessities of the labor market requires the integration of innovations to enable an effective teaching and learning process through a high correlation with the expectations and requirements of education key actors: teachers and students. Introducing e-learning platforms in the classroom allowed the observation of many behavioral issues often embodied in rejecting their use. Most of these issues can be explained and can be expected in the future through a detailed analysis of the influence of external factors on consumer behavior and by linking them with specific internal processes.

This paper aims to identify key external variables which influence the decision of using the e-learning environments by the educational actors within the Romanian education system, explaining and emphasizing their interdependence in shaping their perceptions of actual behavior.

Keywords: consumer educational marketing

behavior,

external

factors,

e-learning,

education,

JEL Classification: M31, I25 Introduction: The continuous developments of the educational environment under the influence of the new knowledge-based society requirements have increased considerably the pressure on education systems in the process of ensuring a better quality of educational provisions.

Teachers are constantly seeking new ways to retain students' attention and ensure assimilation of information transferred in the classroom. The creation of new active teaching – learning methods, adapted to the course, by which the student is motivated and driven to knowledge, is still the main objective of educational approaches in the recent years. The introduction of IT technology and multimedia platforms in the classroom has outlined the main goal of implementing these ideas: the e-learning.

No matter the obvious advantages of e-learning environments for the Romanian educational area, reflected both in the classroom or outside as it increases interactivity and collaborative education development, the responsiveness of teachers and students, the leading users of these teaching – learning environments remains relatively low. The behavior adopted by them can be explained by understanding and linking the external influence factors without neglecting the importance of internal variables.

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1. E-learning and educational system The development of education within the knowledge based society requires the presence and promotion of three key elements: quality and professionalism in lifelong learning, creating and developing knowledge and its dissemination. At the base of these three elements is situated innovation, a crucial role having especially IT innovation (Weert, 2006).

E-learning is seen as a revolutionary system in continuous learning, the key developer of the future educational (Baker, op. cit. Aldhafeeri, 2006).

Derek Stockley defines e-learning as "the delivery of instruction or training program through electronic means. E-learning involves the use of computer or electronic media to ensure the transfer of educational material" (Stockley, 2003).

To respond effectively to the requirements of education, e-learning combines the features of typical Web environments with the most important features of real classes (Tr*u#anu - Matu, 2005). In the e-learning environments, both students and instructors have a higher level of control over their actions, and they are actively involved in learning processes. E-learning offers practical application of concepts presented in the theoretical part, facilitating student access to a variety of real examples and lessons appropriate to the content taught. The platforms allow the use of numerous technologies and methods of communication between the members of virtual communities: discussion lists and forums, synchronous chat, audio - video conferencing solutions, interactive tables, etc. Through all these methods but also by requiring frequent reviews (feedback), e-learning counteracts risk the loss of interest of the subject of training.

According to the study made by Porras - Hernandez, students are parts of a whole – the e-learning community; therefore their involvement in the evolution of the entire community is essential to its existence. The community recognized the importance of individual learning through this being achieved a superior responsibility of the students for the obtained results according to their efforts (Porras - Hernandez, 2000).

Using these technologies in the learning process requires the increasing number of the interactivity elements, self-orientation and collaborative learning. Interactivity is provided via multimedia and software application, interpretation and response to the student’s feedback and through the communication and networking capacity of the teacher.

Perceived as innovative elements of the educational environment, e-learning platforms allow high interaction between student and teacher as well as between the members of the group of students.

2.

The role of external factors in anticipating and explaining the behavior of e-learning platforms users In the context of the holistic marketing, knowing the consumer behavior and his needs is critical. The efficiency of all economic activity is strictly related to correlation and adaptation to the needs of potential customers and the superior satisfaction of these needs.

Adapting to the market requires in-depth knowledge of consumer needs and of the specific behavioral processes to predict the decisions taken by them.

Balaure, defines consumer behavior as "all acts of decision made by an individual or a group, directly related to obtaining and using goods and services in order to meet the current and future needs, including decision-making processes that precede and determine these acts" (Balaure and others, 2005). Consumer behavior is influenced by several factors whose action can be direct or indirect observable. “The education consumer has a certain behavior materialized in the totality of the acts and decisions regarding the recovery of the opportunities in order to obtain and use the

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educative goods and the services. Therefore there must be taken into consideration certain actions: the perception of the stimuli, the mental processing of the information received from outside, so that the consumers might become aware of the education needs, being informed about the existing education needs, their content, their use, diversity and accessibility� (Avram E., Neagoe C., Avram R. 2010) .

Lars Perner separates the determinants of consumer behavior into two broad categories, taking in account the influences exerted. In the category of external influences are employed cultural factors, demographic or marketing factors, giving a great importance to the cultural influences (Perner, 2000).

Catoiu and Teodorescu group the factors with a directly observable influence (situational factors, economic factors, demographic and marketing mix factors) and the factors with a deducted influence (such as endogenous factors - perception, motivation, personality, learning and attitude and exogenous factors: - family, group affiliation, the reference group, social class, culture and subculture) (Catoiu, Teodorescu, 2004).

In the case of the e-learning platforms the major consumers (basically users of these technologies) from the educational field are considered teachers and students. Their perception on the new technologies introduced in the teaching- learning process is dependent on the numerous internal and external variables that determine the adoption of a behavior reflected in the acceptance or rejection of the e-learning environments.

This paper aims to identify key external factors and the role they play in adopting a particular behavior.

From the category of external factors with a directly observable influence, the most important are considered to be the socio-cultural factors. According to Philip Kotler, culture is the fundamental determinant of a person's desires and behavior "(Kotler, Keller, 2008). Individual assimilates into a whole cultural context the values, perceptions, preferences and behaviors specific to a social group to which he belongs. Each culture includes several subcultures (cultural subsystems), each promoting a series of specific cultural norms and beliefs. Knowledge and understanding of specific subcultures and their differences is a key issue in the study of consumer behavior. The need to adapt products and services and others elements of marketing mix in specific subcultures has led to a new branch of marketing - multicultural marketing. The values assimilated in the cultural area to which the individual belongs can decisively influence his perception of educational innovation and his behavior. The conservatism extrapolated from the specific Romanian cultural environment becomes the main factor in influencing the manifestation of reluctance or even refusal of the e-learning solutions within the education system.

The issue of the influence of socio – cultural factors on the behavior is actually studied in detail by Lars Perner in his work entitled "Consumer Behavior". Perner highlights the specific cultural differences and oppositions: individualism vs. collectivism, masculine vs. feminine, ethnocentrism vs. cultural individualism, concrete vs. ambiguous (Perner, 2000). Knowing the specifics of each subculture by identifying the appropriate parameter for the antithesis above represents for Perner the generator element of success in anticipating and explaining consumer behavior. The differences in language and especially the type of regionalisms elements are considered essential in the study of consumer behavior, as well as non - verbal communication which is very important in some cultures (so called "high-context cultures") or insignificant in other cultural spaces (low context cultures ). Language differences are the main criterion for the delimitation of the two types of cultures, the impossibility of verbal communication emphasizing the role of nonverbal communication.

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The group of social factors includes elements of external influence such as reference groups, family, social roles and statutes.

"A person's reference groups are consisting of all the groups engaged in direct (face to face) or indirect influence on the person's attitude or behavior" (Kotler, Keller, 2008). Direct influence groups are groups of belonging and can be primary (family, friends, neighbors etc. or secondary (professional groups, etc.).. The groups of indirect influence are groups of suction or disassociation. "The reference groups expose the individuals to new behaviors and lifestyles, influence his attitudes and his self-concept, and are putting pressure on him to comply, which may influence his effective option in respect of products or brands."(Kotler, Keller, 2008). The knowledge on the reference groups is essential in identifying behavioral elements of the main users of e-learning platforms. The influence of family is the most important element for shaping student behavior. The flexibility manifested within the family and its view on innovation in general but especially on the change in the educational environment is reflected faithfully in the behavior of the student.

As regards the attitude of teachers the most important element of influence is considered the reference group, in particular professional groups.

Within a reference group the most important role is played by the opinion leader. He is acknowledged by the representatives of the group and his decisions are adopted and recognized by the entire group. Identifying the opinion leaders is an extremely important element in the studies of behavior in particular and in marketing in general.

The behavior of the e-learning platforms users is strongly influenced by demographic variables and especially by the age and educational level. Their influence is manifested mainly in the teachers, the acceptance of innovative solutions introduced in the educational environment being specific for the young teachers who are more flexible to the changes which occur in the current social environment. Also the level of training and especially the IT knowledge is a influence variable on the use of e-learning platforms in the classroom.

In the context of global economic change over the last three years, the influence of economic factors are of great importance in studying the behavior of the users of e-learning environments, the high levels of investment required considerably reducing the number of schools with specialized laboratories.

The category of the factors specific of the marketing mix includes the "variables related to product policy, variables related to price policy, distribution policy variables and promotional policy variables (Catoiu, Teodorescu, 2004). Product policy variables are related primarily to product quality and its correlation with consumer requirements. The research carried out in this regard aims to identify the level of customer satisfaction after product consumption. The implementation of e-learning platforms within educational environment imposed the compliance of the multimedia information provided by them with the curricula and the adaption of the communication interface to the specific requirements of the teacher. The lack of prior research on teacher expectations and the main objectives of the education process were reflected in the use of these innovative solutions in the Romanian education system. The variables that refer to the price are often considered of primary importance in developing marketing strategies. The level of "price sensitivity" is one of the elements investigated in the market studies. Given the fact that most of the local education belongs to the public sector, we can say that the influence of these variables is relatively low. Distribution policy variables refer to items such as logistics and information on the typology and commercial flow profile. In the case of the promotion policy, a great importance is given to the research of consumer perceptions and reactions to different promotional messages.

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In his work, "Consumer Behavior", Catoiu indicates the category of situational factors included in the group of the variables with a directly observable influence.

Situational factors are "all those specific factors of observations (cases) well defined in time and space, factors that result from the knowledge of personal attributes (intra individual) and those that characterize the chosen stimulus) but have a demonstrable and systematic effect on the behavior"(Belk, op cit. Catoiu, Teodorescu, 2004). The importance of situational factors is even greater as e-learning platforms are included in the category of the innovations made in the educational field, which makes the various moments of contact and communication elements to influence perceptions and long-term behavior.

Conclusions: Whatever the type of impact factors in any study of behavior must be taken into account the interdependence existing between them. The knowledge of external factors and the links between them permits the adoption of correct and timely purchase / use decisions.

Based on information available, the individual can anticipate the action of various factors (in particular that of the situation factors) by adjusting their reactions and behavior to achieve the established goal.

The knowledge of external factors influence on the behavior of the main actors in the educational market - teachers and students, is a starting point in developing consistent and timely teaching strategies. The requirements of the knowledge based society involve the integration of the lifelong learning techniques such interactive e-learning platforms and their use in the classroom depends decisively on the perception that the future users have on these solutions. The analysis of the external factors allows the prediction and explanation of the behavior of the e-learning environments users. With regard to those presented in this article, we can say that by studying the external factors, without neglecting the internal processes one can obtain the necessary information about the behavior of the users of e-learning platforms in order to adapt them to the requirements of the educational market, in this way contributing decisively to the future development of this area and that of the entire society.

Bibliography: [1] Aldhafeeri, F, (2006) ”Teachers expectations of the impact of e-learning”. Social behavior and personality vol 34, p. 711 [2] Avram Emanuela Maria, Neagoe Cristina, Avram Remus Marian (2010) – “Quality and Performance in Academic Education from the Perspective of Strategic Marketing”, Annals of the University of Craiova, Economic Sciences Series - ISSN 1223-365X, 2010 – Vol. III, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration – International Conference "Competitiveness and Stability in the Knowledge Based Economy” 15-16 May, 2010, Craiova, Romania, p.7 [3] Balaure, V. coord, (2002) „Marketing” Bucuresti: Editura Uranus, p. 180 [4] C*toiu, I, Teodorescu, N. (2004) ” Comportamentul Consumatorului”,Bucuresti: Ed. Uranus, p. 79 [5] Kotler, Ph, Keller, K.,(2008) „Managementul Marketingului”, Bucuresti: Ed Teora, p 265 [6] Perner, L., „Consumer behavior” http: //www.consumerpsichology.com/ accesat la 03.04.2011 [7] Porras – Hernandez H.,(2000) „Student variables in the evaluation of mediated learning environments”, Distance Education, Vol. 21, No. 2, pp.385 – 392

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[8] Stockeley, D., (2003) „Implementing e-learning: an „how to” guide”, London: EMagazine, Volume 2, Issue 7, Ark Group, p.32 [9] Tr*u#an – Matu, )., Cristea, V., Udrea, O., (2005) „ Sisteme inteligente de instruire pe Web”, Bucure#ti: Politehnica Press ,p. 34 [10] Van Weert, T.J., (2006) “Education of the 21 st century: New professionalism in lifelong learning, knowledge development and knowledge sharing, IFIP Conference, Imagining the future for ICT and education, Aalesund, p. 217

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ONLINE INSTRUMENTS IN QUANTITATIVE MARKETING RESEARCH Assistant Lecturer Ivona STOICA, PhD Candidate, Romanian-American University 1B, Expozi$iei Avenue, Sector 1, Bucharest ivona.stoica@rau.ro Abstract The Internet has brought great benefits, revolutionizing the world of marketing instruments used for advertising, bringing new areas such as search engine marketing, online marketing research, is a mediator of diverse individuals gathered in communities where borders no longer matter, and information is immeasurable . The impact of Internet use in marketing research refers to collecting data through online quantitative survey.

This paper has its duty to reveal the importance of online cantitative marketing research by using its instruments. The WebSurvey is a very important online marketing research tool, because it’s attractive to the respondent due to the simplicity in filling the data, where interface can capture the respondent attention, by using multimedia.

The advantages are huge, the Romanian industry of online cantitative marketing research is still a Nova in a long precess in becoming a real Star.

Keywords: Web survey systems, online cantitative marketing research, online survey JEL Classification: M31 I. APPROACH MARKETING

REGARDING

QUANTITATIVE

RESEARCH

ONLINE

Starting from the definition proposed by the Department of Marketing specialists from ESA marketing research, quantitative marketing research appreciate that online is the activity through which formal, with concepts, methods and techniques of scientific investigation of quantitative rule is achieved by exploiting the advantages of the online systematically specifying, measuring, collecting, objective analysis and interpretation of quantitative marketing information for grounding marketing decisions and actions.

Half a century after research by telephone has become commonplace, pop-up another way to do market research "waves," online marketing research.

There is a significant decrease in the number of respondents will be interviewed.

People at home increasingly less select unwanted phone calls through caller ID and the mailbox. And the direct telephone interviews have become increasingly expensive, and achieving high response rates are more expensive, technology-based Internet research can be effective solution in terms of data collection.

This benefit of new features, tools and opportunities to use presentation graphics, video and audio sequences. Studies have shown that despite differences in the source sample and how to interview, similar conclusions can be obtained if the study is well done.

Internet studies have been used in market research began to replace the research method based on the questionnaire sent by post and self-administration by the respondent, which was more expensive and slower in terms of data collection.

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Currently, due to technological advance, research on the Internet has become the preferred research method for many studies of customer satisfaction and employees, and feedback on products and services, the assessment in the business-to-business. There are many reasons to conduct on the Internet, including cost savings, less time to achieve the research and higher data accuracy due to automation rating.

Online marketing research was used in markets with a high rate of Internet has penetrated more than 10 years. It also shows how the Internet has changed dramatically, with a steady increase in Internet penetration rate in developed countries, the bandwidth of Internet access, impressive growth even in developing countries.

The rapid growth of the Internet creates the opportunity for conducting online marketing research. It is estimated that approximately 60% of U.S. and European Union have Internet access. Also, these regions account for a significant percentage of world purchasing power, according to British Marketing Research Association and ESOMAR (ESOMAR World Wide Panel Research, 2008).

Separately, some parts of Asia have fast-growing Internet access. The spread of the Internet makes possible access to an important segment of the population using the Internet and also provides a substantial representation of online consumers (ESOMAR World Wide Panel Research 2008).

Currently, online marketing research is used in over 200 countries (Nicula, D., N., 2009). Most of large companies, successful area of consumer and industrial, have resorted to this method.

In addition, the management of large companies still requires more detailed information in a short time. Most times, no longer have patience for presenting the results to traditional studies, processed manually. The Internet allows companies collect responses 24 hours a day, with software designed and developed specifically for the Internet.

These technologies normally allow automated data collection, avoiding the pitfalls that we have manually processed studies regarding questionnaires with errors and data acquisition computer with a high risk of error.

Companies large and small benefit from studies carried out on the web, because this method proves to be more flexible design of the questionnaire that allows respondents to respond quickly to questions of increased complexity. In addition, online data collection allows analysis of the results faster, without other costs such as transport interviewers.

Online marketing research proves also to be a valuable tool for pre-qualification.

Online pre-qualification testing of respondents to an online survey, including questions of participants by eliminating validation is used by organizations to better target public. In some situations online research can be more efficient and more effective than the traditional, and that hard to reach respondents who are often more accessible through the Internet. This is true for busy business people, for people who are in segments with a low incidence for those who can not travel for medical reasons.

Development in Internet technology makes it possible for research to offer customers a fast and cost less to research their target audience.

Research shows a rapidly growing online because they are becoming more specialized agencies and stands in online research new methodologies updated relatively short time. Many companies now offer research results the same day.

Value and volume of information obtained from carrying out a quantitative online research are of great importance. According to the ESOMAR Global Market Research 2009 (ESOMAR, 2009), the online quantitative marketing research, was 20% of global research, or about U.S. $ 6.5 billion. On the other hand, quantitative research by phone was 18%, face to face surveys (face to face) represented 12%, and where qualitative research

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has recorded a rate of about 14% of global revenue market research (ESOMAR Global Market Research Report, 2009).

In 2009, the turnover of the global market research had reached 28.945 million dollars.

Figure no. 1. Investments in research methods classes in the world - 2009

Investi!ii ĂŽn metode de cercetare - 2009 "#$%#&'$(! %)0(&)+,#!

12/!

Alte tipuri de cercet!ri 7%

"#$%#&'$(! %)*+&)+,#!

-./!

Source: 2010 ESOMAR Global Market Research, ESOMAR Industry Report "Quantitative research have 80% of total global spending, as opposed to qualitative recorded a 13% in 2009 and the 7% for other methods of research are actually secondary research and office (ESOMAR Global Market Research 2010).

"Quantitative research online compared to 2008 when they recorded 20% in 2009 increased, bringing a rate of 22%. Telephone and postal surveys decreased 1% compared to 2008. "(ESOMAR Global Market Research 2010) Since 2004, the online and Internet use as a method of research is growing, and online research becomes an accepted method for a series of studies.

They convey the idea that online research is more than just a new way of research.

It is a cultural and technological change in the way how to do market research.

All that scientists do and think things are changing because you can do online.

Online marketing research increased at a rate of 50% impressive year. An eMarketer study showed that 75% of U.S. policy makers have used online marketing research and is expected to stop using in the future.

Market survey on the Internet is the main method of the studies online, representing about 80% of research spending for online marketing. About one third of total expenditure on market research in the U.S. are represented by online research.

An international study conducted on more than 7,000 businesses showed that in early 2006, 32% of them were making market research using the Internet through an internal or external computer network. The Internet has made it possible for all companies to conduct online marketing research and caused the biggest paradigm in the industry of the '50s to the present. For example, www.msn.com Microsoft site for more than 50 studies on

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the Internet monthly to study user behavior on this site. Most studies lasted no more than 2 days and collected the responses of more than 3,000 users, according to company statements.

Figure no. 2. Ranking 10 countries in the world with the highest costs recorded in 2009 for online marketing research method

Source: ESOMAR Global Market Research 2010, p. 16 Online marketing research, online audience measurement, are among the favorite research methods in 22 countries. Bulgaria stands out among all as the largest investor in online marketing research, followed by Canada, even though an increase from 35% in 2008 to 39% in 2009. In the figure below are excluded audience / traffic online and qualitative research online.

In 2008 according to a study by U.S. research company, advertising and public relations costs have accounted for 10% customer satisfaction - 8% tests Product - 30%, sales tracking - 20%, attitudes and usage - 11%, social and political studies - 3% assessment sites users - 5%, qualitative research - 1% etc..

Quantitative research is based on quantitative research model and classical typologies, all actions and all the steps being implemented in the virtual environment of Internet correspondents.

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Marketing research process is similar and in terms of problems started to resolution, the questions, the analysis to be performed after data collection.

The difference between online quantitative research and face to face with the respondent, is that in the first case the respondent can fill out anywhere, anytime and from anywhere in the world, otherwise the stages are the same.

Very different and how to record data for research where face to face cercet*rorul needs no operator input data because proper software automatically records all data in a database as respondents completed.

Online research professionals are not necessarily interested in "migration" traditional methods of research online, and especially by making full use of advantages of the interactive nature of the online environment, leading studies that were impossible in the offline: ! virtual environments / simulated shopping; ! interactive product configuration platforms; ! advertising research - research advertising effectiveness; ! pop-up surveys - surveys to assess the pop-up web sites; ! social networks and patterns in virtual communities II.

ONLINE SURVEYS FOR DATA COLECTING ON THE WEB

An online marketing research methodology is based on the design and implementation of traditional research, the difference being only that the survey will be completed online via email, and data can be analyzed directly from a database automatically registered which is interconnected to the survey.

Web survey can be accessed via a web browser such as Microsoft Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, which is most often used. Such web survey can be created through a specialized software for online surveys.

This can be done using various programming languages, graphics and multimedia such as HTML, MySQL, PHP, Flash, JavaScript. Companies already renowned in the field Outside Software Inc.. is a Romanian company with over 5 years old in the field and has revolutionized the ease and simplicity to create eSurveysPro a online surveys platform design.

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Figure no. 3. TOP 10 Research firms perceived to be Innovative Source:http://www.greenbookblog.org/2011/02/15/top-10-companies-perceived-to-be innovative-grit-2010-sneak-peek/ There are many online platforms like Outside Software Inc. a Norwegian company, Zoomerang platform, Nebu, Voxco, Vovici, Sphinx, SurveyMonkey, eSurveysPro, a romanian online surveys platform.

Online surveys have the great advantage that can be accessed from anywhere and can be used via smartphone "smart" offered by Nokia, Samsung.

Questionnaires translated from the Word document once the host platform, there may be several "forms" and appearance questions on one page or more screens containing 1, 2 or 3 questions maximum. To ease the burden on users is shown on the screen may not appear more than three short questions for the respondent not to be difficult to walk around with your mouse over the page to have an overview.

The questionnaire should not be tiring because there is no possibility to design the respondent to get bored and leave before the final survey. This can lead to errors because the database to be populated with incomplete information will lead to corruption of records until they are removed from the records.

Of all modes of data collection in the virtual environment via the Internet, the use and effectiveness and accuracy of results are due to Web surveys, in addition but not as valuable used mail surveys, downloadable surveys.

Google also has developed software that browser design surveys but not as complex as the above mentioned platforms.

III. ONLINE INSTRUMENTS IN THE ONLINE CANTITATIVE MARKETING RESEARCH Web survey systems Web survey is to create a questionnaire on a host platform, which appears as a Website, and paote be accessed through a browser and Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Safari, etc..

Surveys can be accessed throught a computer but the latest trend is to use smart phones and tablet PCs. Technology has evolved considerably and open to new individuals want to access all the terrestrial and the iPhone or Samsung Galaxy, or iPhone. We are in a period when the tendency is to use mobile devices to access any type of information, therefore researchers need to think also for Bluetooth operation.

Questionnaires online hosting platforms are quite numerous and varied depending on price and features, how attractive can be as useful surveys and database researcher can be created, data analysis and interpretation of graphic register it.

Typically, large companies are choosing to conduct such research by host, buying an online survey platform. Educational institutions may also apply to such services, research companies that have their own platforms can use online surveys online panels of respondents from other companies providing such services.

In the first gasps of the old time online surveys issue, researchers have developed questionnaires using HTML. For companies not currently online data collection system, there is little reason these days to create a system in-house, unless the organization has very special needs.

One area where solutions are still sometimes surveys software developed in-house is that of online research communities. Companies running these online communities.

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At first users of these platforms purchase the program after you install on your computer.

To collect data online, buy software to install on the server, but with regard to the difficulties of solving the bandwidth, data protection, maintenance.

SaaS (Software as a Service) is a good choice when it comes to buying and ownership of software. Using SaaS client program pays for a company offering Internet services.

Web survey provider of this type system SaaS provides hosting services to surveys and access software, dealing with storage, data, bandwidth, bringing new elements to improve services.

Surveys by e-mail E-mail surveys, does not cover those hosted on a Web page whose link is sent in the body of the invitation is made by e-mail to the respondent, which are actually Web surveys that were left as as "the e-mail "because the mode of transmission. Name of the survey by e-mail has become popular because of the way via e-mail to respondents.

In the U.S. e-mail surveys have been developing for several years decreasing because they were used at the stage that had no speed Internet today, users connect to the Internet access fee, research is accomplished without the required respondents to be online, otherwise said many people with access to e-mail but did not have access to the Web because at that time people accessed e-mail at work.

Website survey Survey research method based on the Web site offers the possibility of collecting a massive amount of informed in a very short time and reduced costs due to facilities offered by the websites in terms of speed, cost, data processing technologies and facilities technology and wealth of multimedia models and animation, and flexibility in terms of questionnaire design.

Website surveys by using facilities of type Zoomerang interactive platforms, eSurveyPro, Sphinx, Snap Survey, Gold Survey, which provides integrated services from questionnaire design to data collection, analysis and graphical presentation of results.

Platforms provide models of templates, types of questions most frequently, usually between 15 to 20 models, the most common and specific platforms that integrate tools, tablet PC, PDA, and online options for completing the questionnaire.

The advantage of completing such a questionnaire is to validate in real time and can achieve any progress reports on the conduct of research sample.

Download surveys Surveys downloadable document is placed on a server that can be downloaded from the World Wide Web on a smartphone, tablet PC or other mobile device and once it is completed will be sent back to the server. These kinds of surveys are usually designed for mobile devices.

IV. ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF ONLINE QUANTITATIVE MARKETING RESEARCH Meanwhile, some companies are reluctant to replace the traditional online research stating that data is not as "clean, accurate" or "online respondents do not like their audience." However, fear not to remain behind the new generation of researchers or research because of budget cuts, are bound to wonder whether this method can be applied to their companies?

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The advantages of quantitative research online marketing are numerous and very useful for the researcher and respondents, the situation "win-win" we identified the following advantages: ! Internet allows researchers to present visual stimuli respondents as no other method can do, using video, audio, video, demo applications, video-marketing. It is possible to test video ads and multimedia presentations, particularly among Internet users have broadband access, they are in a number of increasingly larger. ! Online research is the possibility of interaction in real time, unlimited. For example, respondents may see different versions of the same research questionnaire, based on responses to a pre-test (questionnaire differ for users, intermediate or advanced of a product, for example). Respondents completed the test and then immediately respond to the appropriate version of the questionnaire. All results are almost immediate. ! Many companies will develop a personality test to respondents before they receive the appropriate version of the questionnaire, can then analyze the results in real time. Link is sent by e-mail to potential respondents in an electronic letter containing additional information that will help the respondent to identify the company conducting research, the period during which the link is valid. The survey is hosted on a server robust, high-speed. As respondents completed the questionnaire, the data are collected automatically on the server. This database can be queried at any time during the course of study, online research making a real instrument in real time. ! Compared with traditional research, the last stage, data processing, it takes much less because the foundations are already in electronic format. Another great advantage is that data analysts can work on data reporting tools in spreadsheet format from the moment the study is data collection phase. After formatting the data in tabular format, data can be interpreted and analyzed. Write research report, which also contains recommendations for the client.

After studying a vast literature on online quantitative marketing research and personal experience have identified the following disadvantages practitioner: ! open questions and replies to impossible to ask respondents if the answers are inconsistent; ! difficulty in identifying respondents: although the studies carried out by traditional methods there are times when some respondents are "impostors" Internet control of identity of respondents is much lower and the chances that respondents to deceive regarding their identity are more more; ! The existence of professional respondents, some respondents try to complete the study ! Study as soon as possible, without even reading or thinking about the question who is responsible. However, certain procedures can be implemented by respondents to be identified based on their answers and be eliminated from the final. ! Can not ask questions for clarification: the online research the respondents can be asked to explain the answer, if it is not clear or is not logical. ! Security risks that may occur when new product concepts are presented online. Although there are techniques that can make it more difficult to copy the images presented in the questionnaire, no technique can not guarantee total security.

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! unrepresentative sample: Representativeness sample in online studies was one of the issues extensively studied by specialists. It seems that the representativeness is among the only obstacles that can not be exceeded. If access is by the classical research of all ages and all walks of life, the Internet is limited to the age group 15-60 years in general (and this age is exceeded but little) and is accessible to all social categories . Families with income below the average can not afford Internet access. ! connection with respondents access the Internet. In addition each "extra options" link that is placed on its access difficult and inaccessible and this makes it less attractive to respondents.

Bibliography: [1]. Gay, Richard, Charlesworth, Alan, Esen, Rita - Online Marketing: A Customer-Led Approach, Oxford University Press, 2009, p.428 [2]. Nicula, D.N., Cercet!ri de marketing interna%ional, diponibil online la adresa http://dragossorinnicula.wordpress.com/cursuri-de-marketing/, februarie 2009, accesat la data 30.03.2011 [3]. Poynter, Ray, ”The Handbook of Online and Social Media Research - Tools and Techniques for Market Researchers”, John Wiley and Sons, Publication, UK, 2010; ***ESOMAR Global Market Research 2010 – ESOMAR INDUSTRY REPORT in cooperation with KPMG Advisory, pg. 16 ***ESOMAR Global Market Research 2009 – ESOMAR INDUSTRY REPORT in cooperation with KPMG Advisory, p. 12 ***ESOMAR in cooperation with KPMG Business Advisory Services, Global Market Research 2007, ESOMAR, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 2010, p. 4, 12; ***ESOMAR in cooperation with KPMG Business Advisory Services, Global Market Research 2010, ESOMAR, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, p. 16, 43, 102; *** ESOMAR in cooperation with KPMG Business Advisory Services, Global Market Research 2008, ESOMAR, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 2008, pp. 84-85

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