Motivating Dutch pharmacies’ sales forces The effects of

Motivating Dutch pharmacies’ sales forces

The effects of manufacturers’ motivational efforts on

salespersons’ intentions to sell derma cosmetic products

Jack Reukema

Motivating Dutch pharmacies’ sales forces

The effects of manufacturers’ motivational efforts on

salespersons’ intentions to sell derma cosmetic products

University of Groningen

Faculty of Economics and Business

Marketing Department

Master thesis for MSc Business Administration – Marketing Management

February 2012

Thesis supervisor: Dr. K.J. Alsem

Co-assessor: Prof. dr. J.E. Wieringa

Supervisor Beiersdorf NV: Drs. J. Kroese – Van den Berg

Management Summary

Companies’ sales forces are unquestionably of great value for a great variety of reasons. Motivating sales personnel has been a challenge which has occupied managers and scholars alike for decades. It should come as no surprise that, even today, form, frequency, and quantity of incentives are heavily debated. However, in recent decades, the idea that sales personnel needs tangible as well as intangible incentives has increased in popularity. It still has to be stated, though, that there is no clear answer to which methods to use. Especially in the case of a third party, such as a manufacturer trying to affect the selling behavior of a retailer’s sales force, there is little knowledge.

Beiersdorf’s Eucerin is a skin care brand which in The Netherlands is only sold in pharmacies. The management of Eucerin has opted to support the brand with several marketing efforts, yet finds that the intentions of pharmacy personnel to sell Eucerin could be improved. In this research, the effects of several activities provided by a manufacturer to pharmacy sales forces on their intentions to recommend a brand are studied.

In extant literature as well as in practice, antecedents of performing a behavior are seemingly rarely taken into account in the identification for the best way to motivate. A general framework for finding the antecedents of behavior is the theory of planned behavior. This theory (as used in this study) states that behavior is best predicted by the intentions to perform this behavior, which in turn is affected by attitude towards performing this behavior, efficacy regarding this behavior, self-identity regarding the behavior, affective beliefs concerning this behavior, and subjective norms.

In the qualitative research of this study, 15 activities were identified as possible sources of motivation, as well as how the conceptual model of this research should be constructed. As a result, a set of regression models was designed in order to test the effects of these 15 activities on the antecedents of intentions to recommend a brand, as well as on intentions to recommend a brand. In addition, a questionnaire was designed and answered by 150 respondents, all pharmacy employees responsible for the sales of derma cosmetic products.

though, is that an activity which has a positive effect of exposure can have a negative effect in terms of satisfaction, and vice versa.

This leads to the conclusion that there are indeed activities which can increase intentions to recommend a brand, and that there are activities which are best avoided because they have either no or negative effects. The outcomes also show that one should mainly stick to motivation through supportive materials such as information distribution, trainings, product displays, and product samples for customers, rather than tangible rewards such as performance-related rewards, free products or special offers for personnel.

Preface

Many say that writing your Master thesis is that last bump before ‘real life’ starts. It is the ending not only of your studies at the university, but also marks the ending of a chapter of one’s life. Transgressing from student into ‘serious adult’ with all those adult responsibilities brings about a slight shock as a result of reality which comes crashing in (“where am I gonna work”, “what am I going to do about my student loan”, or “what if I’m really finishing the most fun period of my life”), yet it also gives a feeling of control and even serenity, as you finally start to bring that hard-earned theoretical knowledge into practice.

Writing this thesis was not always easy and during the time span in which this thesis was written (according to some a tad too long), many events occurred which demanded a fair share of my attention (like moving from Groningen to Amsterdam, doing my internship at Beiersdorf, starting to work at Beiersdorf). However, overall it has been a very educative experience which I really enjoyed.

During the writing process of this thesis, many people have supported me and steered me in the right directions. First, I would like to thank my thesis supervisor, dr. Karel-Jan Alsem, for helping me with making this thesis a scientifically viable one and advising me on several occasions. In addition, I would like to thank prof. dr. Jaap Wieringa, the co-assessor for this thesis, for his efforts on helping me with adapting the form and content of this study. Further, I would like to give many thanks to the management of Eucerin for guiding the ‘business-side’ of this thesis: Jantien Kroese – Van den Berg, Marcia Marks, and Jacqueline Aarts. Also, I’d like to thank my girlfriend Caroline for putting up with all the time I have spent on this thesis during weekends and evenings, my occasional frustrations, and for giving me the moral support whenever I needed it. Next to that, I would like to thank my parents for supporting me throughout my studies, as they did so patiently and unconditionally. Last but not least, I would like to express my gratitude to the people who have participated in the research parts of this study and as such, provided all the information needed.

Enjoy reading this thesis!

Jack Reukema

Table of Contents

Management Summary i

Preface iii

Table of Contents iv

1 – Introduction 1

1.1 – Motivating Sales Personnel 1

1.1.1 – The Importance of Sales Forces 1

1.1.2 – The Theory of Planned Behavior and the Motivation of Sales Forces 2

1.2 – Research Issue and Setup 3

1.2.1 – The Case of Beiersdorf’s Eucerin 3

1.2.2 – Research Issue and Design 4

1.3 – The Relevance of this Study 5

1.4 – Structure of this Thesis 6

2 – Theoretical Framework 7

2.1 – The Importance of the Sales Force 7

2.2 – Motivating Sales Forces 8

2.3 – Marketing Efforts in the Pharmaceutical Industry 10

2.3.1 – Introduction to Marketing in the Pharmaceutical Industry 10

2.3.2 – Physician-Related Marketing Efforts 11

2.4 –The Theory of Planned Behavior 12

2.4.1 – The Original Theory of Planned Behavior: Behavior, Intentions,

Perceived Behavioral Control, Attitudes, and Subjective Norms 12

2.4.2 – Adapting and Extending the TPB 14

2.5 – Case Background 16

2.5.1 – The Dutch pharmacy channel 16

2.5.2 – Derma Cosmetics in the Dutch pharmacy channel 18

2.6 – Preliminary Hypotheses and Conceptual Model 18

3 – Research Methodology 21

3.1 – Introduction 21

3.2 – Qualitative Research 21

3.2.1 – Qualitative Research and the Use of Focus Groups: Theory 21

3.2.2 – Focus Group Setup 22

3.2.3 – Moderator Discussion Guide and Group Discussion Content 23

3.3 – Quantitative Research 25

3.3.1 – Quantitative Research and the Use of Surveys: Theory 25

3.3.2 – Eucerin’s Pharmacy Tracking Research 26

3.3.3 – Survey Setup: Questionnaire and Coding of Variables 27

3.3.4 – Survey Setup: Sample Selection 28

3.3.5 – Plan of Analysis 29

3.4 – Conclusions 30

4 – Qualitative Research: Focus Groups and Results 31

4.1 – Introduction 31

4.2 – Results from Focus Group Discussions 31

4.2.1 – Attitudes Towards Selling DC Products 31

4.2.2 – Self-Efficacy Regarding Selling DC Products 32

4.2.3 – The Role of Self-Identity in the Process of Selling DC Products 32 4.2.4 – Affective Beliefs Related to Selling DC Products 33

4.2.5 – Control Variables: Subjective Norms 34

4.2.6 – Motivational Techniques 34

4.3 – Conclusions and forming of Final Hypotheses 36

4.3.1 – Conclusions on the Focus Group Discussions 36

5 – Quantitative Research: Survey Analyses and Results 40

5.1 – Introduction 40

5.2 – Variables and Regression Analyses 40

5.3 – Output and Results 44

5.3.1 – Sample Demographics and Data Transformation 44

5.3.2 – Descriptive Results 46

5.3.3 – Part I: Testing the Theory of Planned Behavior 48 5.3.4 – Part II: Testing the Effects of Exposure to Sources of Motivation 51 5.3.5 – Part III: Testing the Effects of Satisfaction with Sources of Motivation 53

5.4 – Conclusion 56

6 – Conclusions 57

6.1 – Discussion of the Results 57

6.1.1 – Introduction 57

6.1.2 – The Theory of Planned Behavior 57

6.1.3 – The Effects of Exposure to Sources of Motivation 59 6.1.4 – The Effects of Satisfaction with Sources of Motivation 61

6.1.5 – Answering the Main Research Issue 63

6.2 – Managerial Implications: Recommendations for Eucerin’s Management 65

6.3 – Limitations and Directions for Future Research 67

References 70

Appendix A – Focus Group Participants’ Details 76

Appendix B – Focus Group Discussion Topics 77

Appendix C – Survey Selection Questionnaire 79

Appendix D – Main Survey Questionnaire 84

1 – Introduction

1.1 – Motivating Sales Personnel

1.1.1 – The Importance of Sales Personnel

For years, both manufacturers and retailers have tried to influence consumers in their buying behavior. Before, during, and after the purchasing process, consumers can be influenced by a wide variety of marketing instruments in their purchase choice and evaluation of this choice. Examples of these instruments are advertising efforts, pricing instruments, and incentives-based programs, and are aimed at affecting consumers’ purchasing behavior in the favor of the manufacturer producing the product or the retailer selling the product. However, according to Weitz (1978), retailer sales forces (i.e. a store’s sales personnel) could also be seen as marketing instruments. He states that the salesperson has one of the most important roles in marketing for most companies, arguably even more important than advertising.

The importance of retailer sales personnel is proven from different angles throughout academic literature. For instance, Weitzel, Schwarzkopf and Peach (1989) note that in retailing, quality customer service by sales personnel is one of the largest predictors of sales. Palmatier et al. (2007) would even note that it could be very likely that the financial returns of relationship marketing efforts are built more heavily on the customer-salesperson relationship than on the customer-firm relationship. This would mean that the salesperson plays a very significant role in the purchasing process. This role seems to take several forms: salespersons’ customer service has an effect on store patronage (Darian, Tucci and Wiman, 2001), their behavior affects customer satisfaction with both the manufacturer and retailer of a product (Goff et al. 1997), they facilitate consumers’ adoption of product innovations (Ahearne et al., 2010), and they seem to be able to affect actual product choice (Olshavsky, 1973).

Taking the aforementioned into account, one could say that it could be very interesting to be able to have a certain control over the retailer’s sales force, not only for retailers, but also for the manufacturers of the products which are sold to end-users by these sales forces. As Hughes and Ahearne (2010) point out, a manufacturer’s success in the marketplace is based for a significant part by its ability to affect downstream channel members in favor of its brands and products.

1.1.2 – The Theory of Planned Behavior and the Motivation of Sales Forces

Predicting and affecting behavior has been a subject which has generated its fair share of attention in the scientific world, especially from the sociological and social psychological points of view. A theory which has been proven by scholars from many different fields, is the theory of planned behavior (TPB) as conceptualized by Ajzen (1991). In this theory, Ajzen states that any kind of behavior is best predicted by the intentions a person can have to behave in a certain manner, as intentions are indicators of the effort a person is willing to perform a specific behavior. According to the TPB, intentions are affected by three independent antecedents: attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control (Ajzen, 1991). Attitudes are the disposition a person has towards performing a certain behavior. Subjective norms then, can be described as organizational, managerial, and social pressures to perform a behavior, and can be seen as the social factors that affect the intentions to perform this behavior. Finally, perceived behavioral control (or: self-efficacy) is a person’s belief that he or she is able to perform a specific behavior or the belief that he or she has the right knowledge, skills and resources to perform this behavior. In addition, several scholars (e.g. Conner and Armitage, 1998) have proposed to add certain other antecedents of intentions to the model. Examples of these are self-identity, which can be measured in several manners, and

affective beliefs, which can be described as the expected effects of performing a certain behavior.

Hence, one could state that in order to affect salesperson behavior, the trick is to affect the intentions of performing this behavior. In other words, a manufacturer looking to affect a retailer’s sales force should aim to affect the antecedents of a salesperson’s intentions. In practice, there seems to be quite a varied collection of measures and activities which directly or indirectly affect salespersons’ intentions to perform a behavior. Examples of these efforts (or: sources of motivation) are free trial products, performance-related bonuses, and informative materials.

In the real world, however, practical issues arise. For instance, it is likely that more than one manufacturer would try to affect a retailer’s sales force, yet all manufacturers most probably have a finite marketing budget to do so. As a result, the most effective (set of) motivational efforts have to be found in order to motivate a retailer’s sales forces to the extent that a manufacturer’s brand is the preferred brand to recommend.

1.2 – Research Issue and Setup

1.2.1 – The Case of Beiersdorf’s Eucerin

Beiersdorf is one of the oldest and largest personal care manufacturers in the world. Founded in 1900, it manages several well known brands such as Nivea, 8x4, Hansaplast, Labello, Doppeldouche, La Prairie and Eucerin. Although Beiersdorf is currently among the best performing companies in the industry in The Netherlands, where the market place is very volatile. The last decade showed a great number of market reforms, such as the so-called price wars of Dutch supermarkets and to lesser degree drug stores, resulting in changes in the ‘game rules’. These changes brought about a market place where consumer promotions, trade promotions, pricing techniques and media efforts dictate consumer product choice for a great number of products (Beiersdorf, 2010).

Currently, Beiersdorf recognizes the potential growth in the pharmacy channel. This is why Eucerin, the oldest brand of the company, was transferred from the drug store channel to the pharmacy channel as focal sales channel in The Netherlands in 2005. With a brand positioning lying between cosmetics and pharmaceutical products, it aims to serve both ‘normal’ (i.e. generic) skin care consumers and ‘patients’, who have more serious skin problems. Since its relaunch in the pharmacy channel, it has been growing at a high rate, to reach a market share of about 7,6% in 2010 (Beiersdorf, 2010). Although the market knows several important players, the main competitors are Vichy, La Roche-Posay and Avène, with a specific focus on La Roche-Posay due to the comparability of the brands.

the education (also proven by Bos and Groeneveld, 2010) and knowledge to run a commercially driven distribution channel, which might explain why some pharmacies perform better financially than others. The result of these suspected perceptions and attitudes is that it is likely that there is a number of pharmacies with an unmotivated sales force, which may have to do with the fact that they do not want to make an effort in selling non-medicinal products, or just do not know how to do this. In other words, it seems that intentions to sell the derma cosmetic product group are fairly low to say the least.

Eucerin’s sales managers have succeeded in making the brand available in a great number of pharmacies (currently, the brand’s products are available in a selection of over 1.000 Dutch pharmacies), yet sales are better in some pharmacies than others. Besides this, as Eucerin is a relatively young brand in Beiersdorf’s Dutch portfolio, and its smaller turnover in comparison to brands like Nivea, marketing expenditures are relatively low in comparison both Beiersdorf brands as well as some competing brands like Vichy. This is why Beiersdorf is trying to find other methods to promote the brand in the pharmacy channel. Effectively, all brands in the Dutch pharmacy market are all fighting for that so-called piece of the pie, and are allocating several types of marketing efforts in order to do so. Some of these efforts are aimed at trying to motivate salespersons’ to be more concerned with the sales of their products, which hopefully leads to an increase in product sales. Eucerin is no different in this matter: a significant share of the marketing budget is assigned to these motivational efforts. However, quantified proof of the effectiveness of efforts to motivate pharmacy employees is missing. This is why the management of Eucerin would like to find out in which way a pharmacy’s salespersons are motivated to work with the brand to the highest extent, in order to allocate resources more efficiently to these efforts.

1.2.2 – Research Issue and Design

When looking at the management issue stated above and the gaps in extant literature, one can formulate a research issue which is aimed at finding an answer to the management issue, as well as providing possible answers to currently (scientifically) unanswered issues. This leads to the following research issue statement:

What are the effects of a manufacturer’s motivation efforts on pharmacy employees’ intentions to recommend OTC products?

studies, this thesis has a research design which starts off with an exploratory research to gain essential insights and key variables in the issue, which is followed by a conclusive research to test these variables for the population. So, in this study, secondary data in the forms of extant literature about related subjects and sources regarding market circumstances are reviewed first. Then, an exploratory research in the form of focus group discussions is performed. The results of this exploratory research, as well as the discussion of the found secondary data, will lead to the formation of the basis of several regression analyses. In these analyses, 15 sources of motivation will be tested on their effects on the antecedents of intentions to recommend a brand, as described by the theory of planned behavior.

1.3 – The Relevance of this Study

The pharmacy could be seen as a significantly different retailer from other kinds of retailers in the sense that dealing with the sales of OTC products is not its core business, and that pharmacists/pharmacy assistants are often not trained or educated in any way to properly manage the OTC category. By studying this channel from the perspective of a manufacturer, this study has both theoretical and practical relevance.

The theoretical relevance comes from the fact that although there is quite a significant body of extant literature concerning marketing in the pharmacy channel, these studies tend to focus on marketing regarding prescription medicine and are discussing the effects of marketing efforts such as pricing, direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA), and direct-to-physician (DTP) efforts. However, there is a gap in extant literature when it comes to marketing efforts in the pharmacy as a retailer (of OTC products). In addition, this study will offer theoretical relevance due to the fact that motivation of retailer sales forces by a third party (such as a manufacturer) is an underexposed subject in extant literature. Currently, an extensive body of literature exists on the topic of the motivation of sales forces. However, this is approached predominantly from the perspective of a firm (whether that be a retailer, a wholesale business, or a manufacturer) motivating its own sales employees. In other words, it seems that the perspective of a third party, such as a manufacturer trying to get retailers’ sales forces to sell its products while operating in a market with several competitors, has not been studied extensively. In this fashion, a better understanding is gained on the decision making of salespersons and how these decisions can be influenced. Lastly, this study will offer an insight in what motivates persons who are not primarily trained to do a certain type of work (and perhaps do not want to), instead of other researches which have focused on sales forces which are trained as such.

point out to pharmacies how to make better use of the opportunities of the sales of OTC products. Also, it will point out whether several types of motivational instruments are more attractive for some salespeople than for others, which could indicate that there is not one way to set up motivational instruments. As Campo et al. (2005) state, it is very important to understand the decision making process of sales persons, in order to be able to develop more efficient marketing programs. In addition, practical relevance comes from the fact that this study adds to the knowledge of the (Dutch) pharmacy channel, especially regarding the channel’s sales of OTC products and the derma cosmetic product category in particular.

1.4 – Structure of this Thesis

2 – Theoretical Framework

It could be said that before, during, and after the purchasing process, consumers can be influenced by a wide variety of marketing instruments in their purchase choice and evaluation of this choice. Examples of these instruments are advertising efforts, pricing instruments or incentives-based programs, and are aimed at affecting consumers’ purchasing behavior in the favor of the manufacturer producing the product or retailer selling the product. However, according to Weitz (1978), retailer sales forces could also be seen as marketing instruments. He even states that the salesperson has one of the most important roles in marketing for most companies, arguably even more important than advertising.

The importance of the sales force is proven from different angles throughout academic literature. For instance, Weitzel, Schwarzkopf and Peach (1989) note that in retailing, quality customer service by sales personnel is one of the largest predictors of sales. Palmatier et al. (2007) would even note that it could be very likely that the financial returns of relationship marketing efforts are built more heavily on the customer-salesperson relationship than on the customer-firm relationship.

The reason why a sales force is so significantly responsible for a lion’s share of financial results, might be explained by the fact that salespersons often exert substantial power in influencing the customer’s actual choice and purchase (Olshavsky, 1973). Next to this, customer satisfaction with a product, as well as with its manufacturer, is affected by the behavior of sales personnel (Goff et al., 1997). Also, Darian, Tucci and Wiman (2001) point out that customer service is a significant predictor of store patronage. In addition, Weitz (1978) states that by improving the knowledge of salespeople and affecting their behavior regarding specific products and the manufacturer, a consumer is not only more willing to buy that specific product, it is also more likely that the consumer is more satisfied with that product and its manufacturer. Reynolds and Beatty (1999) underline Weitz’ (1978) reporting, and in addition, point out that as a result of a good relationship with a salesperson, word of mouth about this salesperson, the retailer, and the purchased products are stimulated. In line with this is the conclusion of Ahearne et al. (2010), who are stating that salespersons not only affect consumers’ product perceptions, they also facilitate in the adoption of product innovations.

about products), degree of the salesperson is one of the greatest predictors of trust in a customer-salesperson relationship. Overall performance, then, seems to be based on a number of factors. According to Churchill, Jr. et al. (1985), these factors (in order of significance) are personal factors, skill, role variables, aptitude, motivation, and organizational and environmental factors.

When taking the aforementioned into account, one could reason that a retailer’s sales force is a very important group in the supply chain from the perspective of a manufacturer. As Hughes and Ahearne (2010) point out, a manufacturer’s success seems to rely, at least partially, on its ability to convince and motivate downstream channel members in support of its products. For many decades, manufacturers have tried to affect retailers’ sales forces’ behavior in order to boost sales of the manufacturers’ products. Especially as products become more generic and comparable (which makes it harder for sales persons to give a clear advice to customers), manufacturers are looking for ways to influence the advices the retailers’ sales forces are giving (Radin and Predmore, 2002). In conclusion, it can be said that the retailer’s sales force is a very interesting and important part in the supply chain, not only for a retailer but also for a manufacturer. So, it would be very helpful for manufacturers if they would have some sort of influence on the performance of retailers’ sales personnel.

2.2 – Motivating Sales Forces

a higher extent to perform a behavior because his or her needs are met to a higher extent. Thus, from the perspective of a third party trying to get a person to perform a specific behavior more or to a higher extent, one could reason that a person’s needs should be positively affected.

Over the years, an extensive body of research is conducted on the motivation of individuals by third parties. It seems that a large share of this theory has been built based on research in organizational settings. Basically, the motivation efforts which were investigated come either in forms of tangible incentives, such as bonuses and other monetary rewards, and intangible rewards such as knowledge or career promotion. As Prendergast (2008) states, sometimes money is the motivator, but often people get motivated by intrinsic rewards. Extant literature regarding the concrete alternatives of motivation seems to focus on several, mainly tangible, forms of rewards or incentives. Examples of these types of rewards are sales quota-related incentives, product specific incentives, and rewards in the form of products. Often, these examples seem to focus on changing attitudes regarding selling products. However, rewarding sales in these forms can seriously backfire and undermine the cause that they serve. As Kurland (1995) states, (sales) incentives a) only change behavior temporarily, b) are not a motivator, c) affect behavior negatively when incentives are denied, d) can disrupt sales team relationships, e) discourage risk taking, and f) undermine intrinsic motivation. Also, incentives can reduce salespeople’s effort to cooperate in a team (Heneman, 1992), and might lead to decreased productivity (Becker and Huselid, 1992). On the other hand, incentives do not necessarily bring about negative (long-term) effects. Poujol and Tanner, Jr. (2010) prove that in a number of cases, incentives in the form of contests in a sales team can boost an entire sales team’s performance and increase a team’s internal degree of cooperation, under the condition that a contest has to be set up right. In conclusion, it can be said that at the least, rewarding systems are a very delicate issue and are quite a complicated instrument to master.

Another type of motivation is a more intangible form of motivation instrument, and might affect attitudes to sell, as well as a sales person’s self-efficacy. According to Hughes and Ahearne (2010), a strengthened salesperson brand identification can increase that salesperson’s effort for the sales of that brand, even if a retailer’s control systems is set for opposing behavior. Brand identification is the degree to which a person might define themselves with the same attributes as they would define a brand. This underlines the fact that there are other instruments than solely using a tangible form of motivation and thus makes the question of which (set of) motivational instruments to use more significant.

of effort in sales is represented by the strong link between effort and performance in sales (Brown and Leigh, 1996; Zoltners, Sinha, and Zoltners, 2001). In this theory, actual behavior can be predicted by the intentions a person has to perform that behavior. In turn, these intentions are influenced by a number of factors. According to Fu et al. (2010) and many others (e.g. Conner and Armitage, 1998; Rise, Sheeran, and Hukkelberg, 2010; Ajzen, 2002), this theory has proven itself as a valid and significant theory to predict behavior and its antecedents in many fields of research. The TPB will further be discussed in paragraph 2.4.

2.3 – Marketing Efforts in the Pharmaceutical Industry

2.3.1 – Introduction to Marketing in the Pharmaceutical Industry

The pharmaceutical industry is an industry which is quite unique in certain aspects when it comes to marketing efforts. For example, the distribution of pharmaceutical products is different from the distribution in other industries in the sense that it is the distributor, i.e. the physician or pharmacist, who actually makes the choice in which product to use instead of the end-user, i.e. the patient. This makes that a large amount of marketing efforts of pharmaceutical companies are directed not only to the patient/consumer, but rather towards the physician (Stremersch and Van Dyck, 2009). Because of this difference in targeted population, one can say that that marketing efforts in the pharmaceutical industry are significantly different from most other goods (Ellison et al., 1997). Another fact which sets the industry apart, is that the expenditures on marketing efforts seem to be higher than expenditures on actual R&D efforts for improvement of existing products and development of new products (Gagnon and Lexchin, 2008).

2.3.2 – Physician-Related Marketing Efforts

Even though the targeted population of detailing efforts are quite different than the population of focus in this study (pharmacists and pharmacy assistants responsible for advising consumers about OTC products), there are arguably still some parallels to be found between the two. The differences are that physicians often have a decision-making role (Campo et al., 2005) instead of one of advising, and that characteristics of demand of pharmaceutical products (i.e. prescription drugs) differ from demand of OTC products because of higher awareness among consumers and (in the case of derma cosmetic products) that demand could to a certain extent be based on more hedonic drivers. Nonetheless, the patient or consumer arguably still trusts pharmacists and pharmacy assistants for their expertise. So, from the perspective of manufacturers, these groups are comparable because they are not the end-users of their products, but they still are a very important population to influence and motivate to sell/recommend more of their products.

As said before, expenditures on marketing efforts are higher than expenditures on the research and development of new medicine. Detailing (the visiting of physicians by sales representatives) is by far the most frequently adopted manner of DTP efforts, yet other expenditures include physician events, sampling of products, and advertisement in medical journals. According to Kremer et al. (2008), detailing and other physician-oriented efforts drive primary demand (i.e. demand that affects the market size), because these efforts seem to be a possibly effective method of spreading information about newfound treatments, which in turn can stimulate physicians to prescribe these drugs more (Donohue and Berndt, 2004; Fischer and Albers, 2010). Campo et al. (2005) expect that detailing has an indirect yet positive effect on the long-term prescription behavior of physicians.

Overall, it is important to note that there still seems to be discussion on the effects of DTP efforts, as several studies on the same topic seem to have different outcomes (Kremer et al., 2008). However, Kremer et al. (2008) note that although mixed results have been found in extant literature, detailing still has the largest influence (albeit still fairly small) among marketing efforts in the pharmaceutical industry, followed by DTP advertising, and then by other DTP efforts.

Concluding, although pharmacy assistants do not make product choices for a consumer/patient in the same way a physician or even a pharmacist does, it could be said that these assistants are the target of marketing efforts. Thus, it could be possible that pharmacists/pharmacy assistants react in more or less the same manner to marketing efforts from third parties such as manufacturers as physicians: they might react in (slightly) positive manner to marketing efforts such as detailing, distribution of information, product or monetary bonuses or other tangible incentives. In other words, these could be sources of motivation for pharmacists/pharmacy assistants.

2.4 –The Theory of Planned Behavior

2.4.1 – The Original Theory of Planned Behavior: Behavior, Intentions, Perceived Behavioral Control, Attitudes, and Subjective Norms

Attitude toward the behavior Subjective norms Perceived behavioral control Intentions to perform behavior Behavior

Figure 2. 1 - Conceptual model of the theory of planned behavior, based on Ajzen (1991). A full line represents a direct effect; a dotted line represents a partial effect.

Another antecedent of behavior is the perceived control of behavior. This term can be explained in several manners (Conner and Armitage, 1998), but Ajzen (1991) defines perceived behavioral control as the judgments of a person of how well this person could take the actions required to perform a behavior. To illustrate this rather vague concept of perceived behavioral control, one could imagine two people who are learning to speak Chinese. Although these two persons might have the same intentions to learn this language (i.e. they are both motivated to the same extent), if one person is more confident of being able to speak the language in time than the other, the first is more likely to persevere than the second who is doubting more about his abilities to be able to speak the language over time. However, as stated before, perceived behavioral control only has a partial effect on behavior, because the simple fact that a person is confident that he or she is able to successfully perform a behavior, does not mean that he or she will actually perform that behavior. For example, even if someone is perfectly able to learn how to speak Chinese, it is not a strong predicting factor per se, because if that person would not need to speak Chinese, than this does not say anything about whether that person will actually learn how to speak Chinese.

Intentions, then, are in turn affected by certain factors. First, perceived control of behavior also has an effect on intentions, as can also be explained by the analogy of the person and the act of breathe underwater. If a person believes he can not breathe underwater, this not only affects the fact that he cannot breathe underwater, it probably will affect his intentions to breathe underwater as well. In general we can say that the stronger perceived control of behavior (i.e. confidence in successfully performing a behavior) is, the stronger the intentions to perform a behavior are.

sold) is taken into account, but the mere predisposition a person has towards performing this behavior (e.g. the activity of selling a product). Thus, attitudes towards a specific behavior are developed when a person evaluates salient attributes related to the behavior in question (Ajzen, 1991). Under normal conditions, as attitudes become more positive, intentions get stronger.

A third and final antecedent of intentions in this theory are subjective norms. Subjective norms can be explained as the perceived social, organizational, or managerial pressure a person experiences to perform or not perform a certain behavior. This means that when a person is confronted with the norms of his or her social, organizational of managerial surroundings, this person experiences pressure to a certain extent from these surroundings. In turn, these pressures to perform (or not perform) in a certain manner, may motivate or restrain a person in his or her acts, and thus his or her intentions to perform this behavior.

2.4.2 – Adapting and Extending the TPB

Over the years, scholars have found that in general, the theory of planned behavior holds in a wide array of fields (e.g. Conner and Sparks, 1996; Godin and Kok, 1996). However, there have been several suggestions for adapting or extending the theory. One of these adaptations concerns a discussion that the factor of perceived behavioral control should be replaced by the factor of self-efficacy. According to Ajzen (1991), these two definitions are the same. However, regarding the aforementioned, the concept of perceived behavioral control has two meanings, the first being the confidence in oneself (i.e. self-efficacy) to be able to perform a behavior, the second knowing or believing that one has the control over being able to perform a behavior. According to several scholars (e.g. Conner and Armitage, 1998; Fu et al., 2010), self-efficacy is a better predictor of intentions because it better captures the concept of belief in oneself, whereas the link to actual control is less constant as a predictor of intentions.

Also, Ajzen (1991) himself stated that the model is open to modification, and that although attitude, subjective norms, self-efficacy, and intentions have been proven to be antecedents of behavior, there is a high likelihood that there are more antecedents of intentions and behavior. In line with this statement, there have been several suggestions for additions to the theory.

problem, just because the sales employee sees the behavior of extensively helping customers as an extension of her identity (even when that person’s attitude towards the behavior would be low). This self-perceived image which is being imitated to fit a person’s true identity to the self-identity they aspire, could also be based on other subjects than a “self-invented” image, such as the identity of another person, an inanimate object, or a more intangible subject (e.g. religion, a brand of products, a football team). When we take a specific look at self-identity for sales persons, there seems to be a tie to brand identification. According to Hughes and Ahearne (2010), a salesperson’s strong identification with a brand can lead to a strong willingness to perform well for that brand, because that brand’s objectives become aligned with that person’s objectives. Put differently, a salesperson with a strong extent of brand identification for a specific brand will be motivated to sell that brand, because it is not only positive for that brand, but will also be perceived as being in line with how that person should behave.

Another addition to the model is the factor of affective beliefs. These affective beliefs are beliefs in which a person anticipates the affective effects of the outcomes of performing or not performing a behavior (Conner and Armitage, 1998). These affective beliefs have an effect on the predisposition a person has towards performing the behavior (i.e. the attitudes towards performing the behavior), and on the intentions of performing the behavior. In other words, these affective beliefs relate to emotional effects in the sense that a person anticipates a feeling which motivates to perform a behavior (or not), such as a field hockey player which anticipates the feeling of excitement when playing a match, or a child anticipating the reward of a cookie after cleaning a room, which in turn would make the child happy.

2.5 – Case Background

2.5.1 – The Dutch Pharmacy Channel

In the Netherlands, pharmacies take on a specific role as a distribution channel. Compared to other European pharmacy channels, the Dutch channel might be seen as rather traditional. For example, in 2009, there were ‘just’ 1.966 pharmacies in The Netherlands (which means one pharmacy per around 8.800 inhabitants), whereas countries like Belgium and France have a market place consisting of 5.222 pharmacies (one pharmacy per around 2.100 inhabitants) and 22.462 pharmacies (one pharmacy per around 2.800 inhabitants), respectively (Neprofarm, 2010). Also, whereas many European counterparts are experts in both prescription drugs and over-the-counter (OTC) products such as vitamin supplements, skin care products and pain relievers, Dutch pharmacies tend to focus on their role as specialized medicine suppliers. For instance, in 2006, roughly 86% of pharmacy revenues were generated by prescription drug sales, and only about 7% was generated by OTC products (Stichting Farmaceutische Kengetallen, 2008). This could partially be explained by the strong position of drug store formulas, which take a positioning between supermarkets and pharmacies, which have an important role in distributing OTC products as well as other healthcare and cosmetic products in The Netherlands. This is portrayed by the fact that in 2010, less than 15% of national OTC sales are realized by the pharmacy channel (ApothekersNieuws, 2010), and the fact that on average, only 5 to 8% of a pharmacy’s gross sales are generated by OTC product sales (Bos and Groeneveld, 2010).

Due to the aforementioned changes, the pharmacy channel is under pressure. Although it is still a growing distribution channel, now more than ever, pharmacies are closing down (Stichting Farmaceutische Kengetallen, 2010) because of the financial strain the preference policy and new competition are putting on. In March 2010, a reported 50% of Dutch public pharmacies were afraid that they would have to close shop. This is a reason for many pharmacists to join one of the pharmacy chain companies in The Netherlands (Pharmaceutisch Weekblad, 2010). However, these growing pharmacy chains are threatening the existence of individual pharmacies, because of advantages such as economies of scale regarding overhead costs and order quantities.

In the same time, the workload for pharmacy assistants, the ‘sales personnel’ of pharmacies, is increasing by the year (Stichting Farmaceutische Kengetallen, 2009; Stichting Farmaceutische Kengetallen, 2010). This is caused by two major developments. First of all, the pharmacy channel has to deal with an increasing number of clients due to the slowly inclining age of the Dutch population, and next to that the channel is gradually being discovered by consumers as a channel to purchase several consumer good products (OTC products such as skin care). Second of all, because of the decreasing margins, pharmacists are considering and executing cuts in the pharmacy team en masse. With less assistants to offer service to customers, their time for other sales activities than strictly necessary (service regarding the distribution of prescribed medicines) is under pressure (Beiersdorf, 2009).

2.5.2 – Derma Cosmetics in the Dutch Pharmacy channel

Derma cosmetics, or cosmeceuticals, are products which combine characteristics of cosmetic and pharmaceutical products. Just as cosmetics, derma cosmetics are applied on the skin, but they contain ingredients which can affect the biological function of the skin (Schwartz and Centurion, 2010). Well-known brands, such as Nivea, L’Oréal Paris, Clinique and Biotherm, are readily available in Dutch supermarkets, drug stores and perfumeries for decades. The Dutch pharmacy channel on the other hand is a relatively younger distribution channel for these kinds of products, yet is growing quite steadily with more specialized (which often means more medically positioned) brands.

In the Netherlands, the derma cosmetics market in pharmacies made up for about €53 million between September 2009 and September 2010 and showed an increase of 4,2% compared to this period a year before (Beiersdorf NV, 2010). In total, incomes from derma cosmetics sales make up for roughly 5% of total pharmacy incomes, but is growing over the past few years. The most important subcategories are anti-aging, which represents roughly 45% of incomes, and face care, impure skin care, sun care, body care and face cleansing, which each make up for between 8% and 15% of incomes in the derma cosmetic market.

There are a few brands which dominate the market, to different extents that is. L’Oréal-owned Vichy is in the pharmacy market already for over three decades, and currently holds a market share of about 75%. Numbers two and three, La Roche-Posay (also owned by L’Oréal) and Eucerin (owned by Beiersdorf), are fighting over the second position and both have a market share between 7,6 and 7,9%. Next to these, there are a few players which all hold up to 1,2% of market share, such as Avène, Louis Widmer and Ahava. Although these market shares seem to be tiny or even nonexistent, it could be seen as quite a good performance when holding into account the fact that most of these brands have not been on the market for more than seven years. As an effect, Vichy is losing market share to these brands quite rapidly and is trying to diversify its assortment. In the same time, these other brands are investing heavily in several instruments to gain a higher market share.

Although competition in the pharmacy channel regarding the derma cosmetic category is not as intense or as volatile as in the ‘main stream’ channels of supermarkets, drug stores and perfumeries, it is an ever increasing competitive market place. In order to counter competitors efforts, companies are increasingly offering several services to help boost sales in the category. These services differ from help with optimizing shelve spaces, traffic to the pharmacy and inside the pharmacy, sales material and even trainings to the sales personnel of pharmacies.

2.6 – Preliminary Hypotheses and Conceptual Model

discussed in this chapter. For this study, the TPB (as shown in figure 2.1) is employed as the main framework. Although it is extensively proven that the TPB in its original form is a valid theory, there have been scholars who have proposed several additions to the theory (as discussed in paragraph 2.4), and the replacement of perceived behavioral control by self-efficacy. As mentioned before, intentions are good predictors of actual behavior, and as the relationship between intentions and actual behavior, which possibly is more one which is of interest for behavioral science, is less interesting from the perspective of testing the effects of motivational efforts. This is why the focus will be on the part of the TPB which shows the antecedents of intentions. That said, attitude, self-efficacy, self-identity, and affective beliefs seem to be the four general focal points which can be moderated in order to change intentions to sell by motivational techniques. Thus, from the perspective of an external party that aims to increase intentions to recommend, these variables are the ones to be enhanced. Based on the findings in this chapter on the variables of the TPB, following preliminary hypotheses can be formulated:

p1 Subjective norms have a positive effect on attitude toward recommendation p2 Subjective norms have a positive effect on self-efficacy

p3 Attitude toward recommendation has a positive effect on intentions to recommend p4 Self-efficacy has a positive effect on intentions to recommend

p5 Self-identity regarding recommending brand has a positive effect on intentions to recommend p6 Affective beliefs have a positive effect on intentions to recommend

p7 Subjective norms have a positive effect on intentions to recommend

In this chapter it has been suggested that in order to motivate a person to perform a behavior, one should try to that person’s intentions to perform that behavior by facilitating or undermining motivations which are tied to that person’s needs. In the light of the TPB, it could be reasoned that the variables of the model should be positively affected.

p8 Exposure to sources of motivation has a positive effect on on attitude toward recommendation p9 Exposure to sources of motivation has a positive effect on self-efficacy

p10 Exposure to sources of motivation has a positive effect on self-identity regarding recommending brand p11 Exposure to sources of motivation has a positive effect on affective beliefs

p12 Exposure to sources of motivation has a positive effect on intentions to recommend

p13 Satisfaction with sources of motivation has a positive effect on on attitude toward recommendation p14 Satisfaction with sources of motivation has a positive effect on self-efficacy

p15 Satisfaction with sources of motivation has a positive effect on self-identity regarding recommending brand p16 Satisfaction with sources of motivation has a positive effect on affective beliefs

p17 Satisfaction with sources of motivation has a positive effect on intentions to recommend

Based on these hypotheses, a preliminary conceptual model for this study can be constructed. This model is shown in figure 2.2. Note that the final hypotheses and conceptual model are presented in chapter 4.

Exposure and satisfaction with sources of motivation Attitude toward recommending brand Self-efficacy regarding recommending brand Self-identity regarding recommending brand Affective beliefs regarding recommending brand Control variable Subjective norms Intentions to recommend brand p2 p3 p4 p5 p6 p7 p8 / p13 p1 p9 / p14 p10 / p15 p11 / p16 p12 / p17

3 – Research Methodology

The conceptual model shown in paragraph 2.6 is the framework for this study. In this chapter, the methods of examining the proposed model will be explained. According to Malhotra (2007), there are several manners to conduct research. Many studies have a research design which starts off with an exploratory research, which is followed by a conclusive research. The aim of an exploratory research is to identify actual issues, gain insights for developing an approach to these issues, and formulate key variables for further examination. Then, these outcomes are tested for a certain population by means of a conclusive research, in the form of a descriptive setup or a causal setup.

This particular paper has the same research setup as the aforementioned method: first, focus group discussions were held as a form of qualitative research, in order to find whether the preliminary hypotheses (as stated in chapter 2) were the correct hypotheses to study, and in addition whether the set of variables and relations between the variables were relevant and complete. After this, the final hypotheses and conceptual model were formed, and quantitative research in the form of surveys was conducted to test these. The coming paragraphs will describe the several steps of this study.

3.2 – Qualitative Research

3.2.1 – Qualitative Research and the Use of Focus Groups: Theory

There are several methods of conducting an exploratory research. Malhotra (2007) distinguishes already performed surveys, analyses of secondary data, and qualitative research. The advantage of performing a qualitative research, is that this form of gathering data can actually be adapted and molded into a methodology which is able to obtain the data the conductor actually aims to obtain. Next to this, the conductor is the person who is designing the methodology, so he can be sure of the needed quality with regard to issues such as validity, reliability, and representativeness.

free-flowing discussions. Another argument to opt for a focus group research as a form of qualitative research, is because focus group discussions can be very suitable to design a questionnaire for a quantitative research (Edmunds, 1999), as is the case in this study.

3.2.2 – Focus Group Setup

The main goal of this qualitative research was to check whether the theories and model suggested in the previous are accurate, relevant, and complete, and to get more information on several topics in order to formulate a questionnaire for the quantitative research of this study which is as relevant and fitting as possible. In order to perform this qualitative research, an external market research company, named Synovate, was contracted. The reason a third party was chosen to perform the research, is because this particular research was already planned to be performed for Beiersdorf. The main role of Synovate herein was the selection of participants, providing an experienced moderator, and providing adequate facilities such as discussion rooms. However, Synovate was not responsible for the forming of discussion topics concerning the subjects in this paper, or the actual analysis of the outcomes of the focus group discussions concerning these subjects.

Beiersdorf and Synovate planned a qualitative research in the form of two focus groups consisting of pharmacy employees. The subjects in this research were concerning the role of pharmacy employees in the pharmacy, and the way these pharmacy employees regarded the current state and future development of the channel with regard to the sales of OTC products. Two focus groups consisting of seven pharmacy employees each were formed in order to uncover several issues. Selection criteria were that these respondents had to be selected to represent the population of Dutch pharmacy assistants as well as possible with regard to employer (chain pharmacy or independently owned pharmacy), had to have five years or more working experience (note: a mix was made between persons with 5-10 years, 10-15 years, and 15 or more years of experience), had to be responsible for the sales and/or management of the OTC categories in their pharmacies, and had to have at least a neutral disposition towards the OTC categories. To select these participants, pharmacies were randomly approached by phone and pharmacy employees were asked whether they would be interested to participate in this study. If all of the screener criteria were met, these specific persons were invited to actually participate, and this process went on until the proficient number of persons was drafted.

knowledge and experience to give insights on the subjects in question, which further acknowledges the fact that focus group respondents do not have to be a perfect representation of a population. In this study, Synovate tried to base the selection of participants on these factors. In appendix A the participants’ details are shown.

According to Malhotra (2007), in an ideal situation, the moderator of a focus group is a professional who is specialized in conducting group conversations. Synovate’s moderator, specialized in conducting focus groups on subjects regarding the Dutch pharmaceutical industry, was briefed well before the focus groups were conducted. In this fashion, the moderator was able to prepare herself to lead the conversation in the directions as wished for.

The research company was also responsible for the location and accommodation of the focus groups. The accommodations which were used for these focus groups were located in Synovate’s offices, and are designed for the purposes of conducting several types of research (among which focus groups). The first focus group was conducted at the head office of Synovate in Amsterdam, and the second was conducted a three days later in a branch office in Amersfoort. The accommodations were equipped with tools and other necessities needed in order to make these sessions productive and efficient, such as a whiteboard, markers, sheets of paper, and a fridge full of soft drinks. In order to let spectators be able to follow the conversations, the accommodations were equipped to fit this goal. For the first session, spectators were seated in a room next to the room where the group session was being conducted. The rooms were divided by mirrored glass, which made that the attendees could directly see and follow the group’s discussions, but the participants were not able to see or hear the persons behind the glass. For the second session, the attendees were seated in a room which had a direct video connection to the group’s room.

3.2.3 – Moderator Discussion Guide and Group Discussion Content

As stated before, this qualitative research is aimed at offering insights in the subject at hand, and giving a clear view of which variables might be in play, in order to construct a questionnaire for the quantitative research part of this study which examines the relevant variables. Because this was not a study which is aiming at gaining the participants’ own perceptions, preferences, and behavior per se, but rather about what they saw as significant variables, the discussion topics and methodology of conducting the focus groups were adapted to this goal.

discussion at that point. The spectators had several possibilities during a session to give notes to the moderator when an important issue would be skipped, in order to be brought up at a later point during the session, so that all important issues would be covered. The moderator was also instructed to use the probing technique, which is the technique to ask further questions in order to go deeper into a given subject and uncover hidden issues (Malhotra, 2007). For instance, questions could be posed in the manner of “Could you tell me more about why you think this?” or “Which issues do you

think are significant in this matter?” With regard to the subjects directly related to this particular

study, all of these were sufficiently discussed in order to make conclusions considering these issues. The selected issues for the focus group sessions with regard to this study are based on literature and insights from preliminary interviews with a number of pharmacy assistants and Beiersdorf’s sales representatives. The focus herein lay in gaining an insight on several aspects of the dependent, independent, and control variables, as presented in the conceptual model in figure 2.2 in chapter 2. Specifically, the variables implemented in the focus group discussions are motivational techniques (especially by manufacturers), attitudes towards selling derma cosmetic products, self-efficacy with regard to selling derma cosmetic products, self-identity with regard to derma cosmetic products, affective beliefs towards selling derma cosmetic products, and intentions of selling derma cosmetic products. The two control variables, subjective norms and personal factors, were covered as well.

As one can see in the list of added issues to be discussed as shown in appendix B, a mix was used between direct questioning and projective questioning techniques. The difference between these two resemble the difference between focus groups and depth interviews, and projective techniques as described by Malhotra (2007). Unlike focus groups and depth interviews, projective techniques are indirect forms of questioning in which respondents are asked to interpret the behavior of others (which are often like them, i.e. belong to the same population), rather than describing their own behavior, motivations, beliefs, attitudes, et cetera. A reason for employing these techniques, is because in some cases respondents might answer in a way which is not portraying their true opinion or behavior. An example is when a question refers to a ethical situation on which a respondent could feel forced to answer in a socially preferred manner, rather than exposing their true beliefs. Projective questioning is well known for being able to counter this issue, by letting respondents interpret the behavior of others which often leads to the fact that respondents indirectly project their own beliefs into the situation (Malthotra, 2007). In the case of this particular focus group discussion, a mix of direct questioning and projective questioning was used because with some issues, participants are regarded as experts and are thus directly posed. However, in other issues, the participants could have found it hard to actually state their true attitudes and behavior. An example of this would be the issue of motivational techniques, for which there were indications (based on the theory discussed in chapter 2 and the preliminary interviews) that the participants could have problems to properly indicate the influence of techniques such as incentives and bonuses due to the fact that they could think that it would be immoral to state that they actually got motivated by this.

The outcomes of this research were analyzed as follows. There does not seem to be a standard method of analysis of a qualitative research. An option however is to use categorization of output (Malhotra, 2007). In this manner, respondents’ answers are categorized according to relevant subjects in a study. In this particular study, the output was categorized according to the subjects and variables under discussion.

3.3 – Quantitative Research

3.3.1 – Quantitative Research and the Use of Surveys: Theory

research involving an experimental setup with motivational techniques and pharmacy employees would far exceed the resources available for this study.

A common method of conducting descriptive research is the use of surveys. Surveys involve questioning a sample of respondents, which often involves structured data collection. In this manner, a formal questionnaire is prepared and the questions are asked in a set order. According to Malhotra (2007), most questionnaires contain predominantly fixed-alternative questions where respondents only have to select their response from a given set of possibilities. Examples of these predetermined answers are the use of Likert-scales, where respondents indicate the extent of a given variable by using a 7-point scale (e.g. “I like to shave with brand A” where 1 stands for “Totally disagree” and 7 stands for “Totally agree”). The advantages of employing surveys are that questionnaires are fairly simple to register, obtained data is reliable because of the set alternatives in questions which reduces variability in the results which are caused by differences in respondents, and coding, analysis, and interpretation are relatively simple. The disadvantages of using surveys are that respondents may not be able to motivate why they are answering in the way they are, and the possible loss of validity for some types of data such as beliefs and feelings (Malhotra, 2007). However, for this study, the advantages and the circumstances of this study make that employing a survey technique could be an appropriate method.

3.3.2 – Eucerin’s Pharmacy Tracking Research

Beiersdorf has carried out a number of so-called pharmacy tracking researches in several countries over the world for the brand Eucerin. These researches investigate the competitive performance of Eucerin versus a number of competitors in that market, where the population of interest is consisting of pharmacists, pharmacy managers, and pharmacy sales employees, and which follow a standardized questionnaire. The variables which are examined during these researches regard topics such as brand awareness, brand attitudes, performance of sales representatives, sales materials, supplying performance, and special services. During these pharmacy tracking researches, local subsidiaries of market research company Synovate are responsible for implementing these researches in that specific country.

interviewers are experienced in guiding a discussion or interview, and Synovate employs trained interviewers who are specialized in gathering this sort of data. In addition, it could be more effective to employ a market research company such as Synovate, when it comes to both willingness to cooperate and validity of answering. Arguably, both response rates and validity of answers could likely be lower if the conductor would approach possible respondents in the role of either an employee of Beiersdorf or as a graduate student, while Synovate could be perceived as a more neutral party. Just as it was the case for the focus group discussions, Synovate was responsible for drafting of respondents for the survey, conducting the surveys, and providing all the necessary resources in order to do so. However, they were not responsible for adapting the existing questionnaire in order to add the specific questions for the research of this paper, the needed data recoding, analyzing the data, or interpreting the outcomes of the analyses found in this paper.

3.3.3 – Survey Setup: Questionnaire and Coding of Variables

The first step in this quantitative research was the construction of the selection questionnaire and the main questionnaire. These questionnaires already existed because the same set of questions is being used in all the countries where Beiersdorf has done this pharmacy tracking research. However, some variables and questions had to be adjusted to fit the Dutch market’s circumstances, and next to this, a number of questions and variables for the analysis for the particular research for this paper had to be implemented.

As a result, respondents were asked to answer questions about Eucerin as well as seven other derma cosmetic brands on the Dutch market. These included brands form the eight largest brands based on their market shares. Due to restricted time resources, respondents were asked to select a maximum of three brands on which they had to answer the questions of the questionnaire. For this selection, the respondents were asked to choose the brands of which they thought they would be able to answer the most questions on (in relation to their satisfaction with services delivered by those brands).

A lion’s share of the outcomes of this questionnaire is on a 9-point scale (seven points to register the extent of satisfaction or agreement, and two points to take do not know and no-response answers in to account). In order to be able to use these variables for several statistical analyses, some of the variables were adapted and new variables were created. As a result, the variables which will be used in these analyses are coded as follows. Exposure to the individual sources of motivation are coded as so-called dummy variables of 1 meaning yes and 0 meaning no, whereas the satisfaction with these individual sources of motivation are coded from 1 to 7, where 1 stands for totally dissatisfied and 7 for totally satisfied. The eight variables concerning the four antecedents of intentions to recommend are coded from 1 to 7, where 1 stands for a totally negative opinion regarding that variable (e.g. I think that this brand is very hard to recommend) and 7 stands for a totally positive opinion (e.g. I think that this brand is very easy to recommend). Intentions to recommend are measured on a scale of 10 points, ranging from 1, meaning totally not intending to recommend this brand, to 10, meaning totally intending to recommend this brand. Finally, both preference of the supervisor and expectations of social environments are measured in a dichotomous scale, where 0 stands for no particular preference for this brand and 1 stands for a

particular preference for this brand.

3.3.4 – Survey Setup: Sample Selection