Essentials of Marketing Research

William G. Zikmund, Ph.D., was a professor of marketing at Oklahoma State University until his death in 2002. He received his bachelor of science degree in marketing from the University of Colorado, a master of science degree from Southern Illinois University, and a Ph.D. in business administration with a concentration in marketing from the University of Colorado. Professor Zikmund worked in marketing research for Conway/Millikin Company and Remington Arms Company before beginning his academic career, and he had extensive consulting experience with business and not-for-profit organizations. Professor Zikmund published dozens of articles and papers in a diverse group of scholarly journals, including the JOURNAL OF MARKETING, ACCOUNTING REVIEW, and the JOURNAL OF APPLIED PSYCHOLOGY. He was the author of the successful textbooks EXPLORING MARKETING RESEARCH, BUSINESS RESEARCH METHODS, MARKETING, and EFFECTIVE MARKETING, as well as a work of fiction: A CORPORATE BESTIARY. Professor Zikmund was a member of several professional organizations, including the American Marketing Association, the Academy of Marketing Science, the Association for Consumer Research, the Society for Marketing Advances, the Marketing Educators¿ Association, and the Association of Collegiate Marketing Educators. He served on the editorial review boards of the JOURNAL OF MARKETING EDUCATION, MARKETING EDUCATION REVIEW, JOURNAL OF THE ACADEMY OF MARKETING SCIENCE, and JOURNAL OF BUSINESS RESEARCH. Professor Zikmund was an accomplished educator who strived to be creative and innovate in the classroom, and his books have been used in universities in Europe, Asia, Africa, South America, and North America, reaching more than a half million students worldwide. Barry J. Babin has authored over 70 research publications in some of the most prestigious research periodicals, including the JOURNAL OF MARKETING, THE JOURNAL OF CONSUMER RESEARCH, THE JOURNAL OF BUSINESS RESEARCH, THE JOURNAL OF RETAILING, PSYCHOLOGICAL REPORTS, PSYCHOLOGY AND MARKETING, and THE JOURNAL OF THE ACADEMY OF MARKETING SCIENCE, among others. Babin is currently Max P. Watson, Jr., Professor of Business and chair of the department of marketing and analysis at Louisiana Tech University. He has won numerous honors for his research, including the Louis K. Brandt Faculty Research Award from the University of Southern Mississippi (on three occasions), the 1996 Society for Marketing Advances (SMA) Steven J. Shaw Award, the 1997 Omerre Deserres Award for Outstanding Contributions to Retail and Service Environment Research, and the Academy of Marketing Science's Harold W. Berkman Distinguished Service Award. He is a former president of the Academy of Marketing Sciences and the Society of Marketing Advances, and he currently serves the marketing editor for the JOURNAL OF BUSINESS RESEARCH. Babin's research focuses on the effect of the service environment in creating value for employees and customers. His expertise is in building and understanding value that leads to long-lasting, mutually beneficial relationships with employees and customers. His primary teaching specialties involve consumers and service quality, marketing research, and creative problem solving. A frequent international lecturer, he has presented in Australia, South Korea, France, Germany, New Zealand, South Africa, Canada, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.