The Club Store Effect: Impact of Shopping in Warehouse Club Stores on Consumers' Packaged Food Purchases

Authors: Kusum L. Ailawadi, Yu Ma and Dhruv Grewal

Publication: Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 55, No. 2, 2018, pp. 193-207.

Abstract: 

This article studies the impact of shopping at the warehouse club format on households' packaged food-for-home purchases. In addition to low prices, this format has several unique characteristics that can influence packaged food purchases. The empirical analysis uses a combination of households' longitudinal grocery purchase information, rich survey data, and detailed item-level nutrition information. After accounting for selection on observables and unobservables, the authors find a substantial increase in the total quantity (servings per capita) of purchases attributable to shopping at this format. Because there is no effect on quality of purchases, this translates into a substantial increase in calories, sugar, and saturated fat per capita. The increase comes primarily from storable and impulse foods and it is drawn equally from foods that have positive and negative health halos. The results have important implications for how marketers can create win–win opportunities for themselves and for consumers.

Read abstract: Journal of Marketing Research

2018 Manulife Prize: Call for Applications

McGill University’s Desautels Faculty of Management and the McGill Centre for the Convergence of Health and Economics (MCCHE) are pleased to announce the call for applications for the 2018 Manulife Prize for the Promotion of Active Health.

Social capital and obesity among adults: Longitudinal findings from the Montreal neighborhood networks and healthy aging panel

Authors: Yun-Hsuan Wu, Spencer Moore and Laurette Dubé

Publication: Preventive Medicine, Vol. 111, June 2018

Abstract: 

Overcoming online shopping temptations this holiday season

In an article for The Globe and Mail, Desautels Professor Ashesh Mukherjee delves into the hidden costs of living online, which can include the temptation to overspend on holiday shopping.

MCCHE helps food companies stay ahead of technology

Rapid technological advancement is disrupting the status quo across numerous domains, including in agriculture and food markets.

In response, the McGill Centre for the Convergence of Health and Economics (MCCHE) and the National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship and Management (NIFTEM) are hosting a series of relevant executive development programs from December 5-6.

From single-use to multi-use: Study of consumers' behavior toward consumption of reusable containers

Authors: Myriam Ertz, Rong Huang, Myung-Soo Jo, Fahri Karakas, Emine Sarigöllü

Publication: Journal of Environmental Management, Vol. 193, May 2017

Abstract:

Li Ka Shing broadens horizons for management students

The Li Ka Shing Program in International Business provides exchange opportunities between students from McGill and Shantou universities. These learning experiences have enriched participants in innumerable ways, exposing them to cutting-edge business practices and diverse cultures.

Desautels Global Expert: Sean Brown

Mr. Brown gave a guest lecture in Professor Myung-Soo Jo’s Management in a Global Context course. He gave the students insight into the working environment and culture at McKinsey.

Fetal growth interacts with multilocus genetic score reflecting dopamine signaling capacity to predict spontaneous sugar intake in children

Authors: P.P. Silveira, I. Pokhvisneva, H. Gaudreau, L. Atkinson, A.S. Fleming, M.B. Sokolowski, M. Steiner, J.L. Kennedy, Laurette Dubé, R.D. Levitan, M.J. Meaney, MAVAN research team

Publication: Appetite, Vol. 120, January 2018

Abstract: 

Congratulations to Faculty Award recipients

The Desautels Faculty of Management congratulates the following individuals who are the latest to be granted a Faculty Award for the period of September 1, 2017-August 31, 2020. The Faculty Awards recognise demonstrated research achievement and encourage the pursuance of future academic endeavors.

The Internet Trap: Five Costs of Living Online

Book: The Internet Trap: Five Costs of Living Online

Author: Ashesh Mukherjee

Publisher: University of Toronto Press, Rotman -UTP Publishing, Forthcoming in March 2018

Firm Expansion, Size Spillovers and Market Dominance in Retail Chain Dynamics

Authors: Jason R. Blevins, Ahmed Khwaja and Nathan Yang

Publication: Management Science, Forthcoming

Abstract:

We develop and estimate a dynamic game of strategic firm expansion and contraction decisions to study the role of firm size on future profitability and market dominance. Modeling firm size is important because retail chain dynamics are more richly driven by expansion and contraction than de novo entry or permanent exit. Additionally, anticipated size spillovers may influence the strategies of forward looking firms making it difficult to analyze the effects of size without explicitly accounting for these in the expectations and, hence, decisions of firms. Expansion may also be profitable for some firms while detrimental for others.

Thus, we explicitly model and allow for heterogeneity in the dynamic link between firm size and profits as well as potential for persistent brand effects through a firm-specific unobservable. As a methodological contribution, we surmount the hurdle of estimating the model by extending the Bajari, Benkard and Levin (2007) two-step procedure that circumvents solving the game. The first stage combines semi-parametric conditional choice probability estimation with a particle filter to integrate out the serially correlated unobservables.

The second stage uses a forward simulation approach to estimate the payoff parameters. Data on Canadian hamburger chains from their inception in 1970 to 2005 provides evidence of firm-specific heterogeneity in brand effects, size spillovers and persistence in profitability. This heterogeneous dynamic linkage shows how McDonald’s becomes dominant and other chains falter as they evolve, thus affecting market structure and industry concentration.

Read full article:  Management Science

Power Distance Belief, Power, and Charitable Giving

Authors:  Dahee Han, Ashok K. Lalwani and Adam Duhachek

Publication: Journal of Consumer Research, Vol. 44, No. 1, June 2017

Abstract:

Three studies examine the relation between power distance belief (PDB), the tendency to accept and expect inequalities in society; power, the control one has over valued resources; and charitable giving. Results suggest that the effect of PDB depends on the power held by the donor. In low-PDB contexts, people high (vs. low) in psychological power tend to be more self-focused (vs. other-focused), and this leads them to be less charitable. In high-PDB contexts, however, people high (vs. low) in psychological power tend to be more other-focused (vs. self-focused), and this leads them to be more charitable. The authors also explore several boundary conditions for these relationships and conclude with the implications of these findings.

Read full article: Journal of Consumer Research

Saurabh Mishra appointed to Editorial Review Board of JAMS

Saurabh Mishra, Associate Professor in Marketing, has been appointed to the Editorial Review Board of the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science (JAMS).

JAMS is devoted to the study and improvement of marketing and serves as a vital link between scholarly research and practice by publishing research-based articles in the substantive domain of marketing.

Fundraising could improve if tailored to social status

According to research by Desautels professor DaHee Han and her colleagues, charities are losing out on donations by not targeting their fundraising campaigns properly.