A. Coskun Samli - Empowering the American Consumer: Corporate Responsiveness and Market Profitability

Cover

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_______EMPOWERING_______
THE AMERICAN CONSUMER

Corporate Responsiveness and Market Profitability

A. Coskun Samli

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Samli, A. Coskun.
Empowering the American consumer : corporate responsiveness and market
profitability / A. Coskun Samli.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 1567203787 (alk. paper)
1. ConsumersUnited States. 2. Consumer protectionUnited States. 3.
CorporationsUnited States. 4. United StatesEconomic conditions. I. Title.
HC110.C6 S26 2001
381.3dc21 00032817

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data is available.

Copyright 2001 by A. Coskun Samli

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, by any process or technique, without the express written consent of the publisher.

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 00032817
ISBN: 1567203787

First published in 2001

Quorum Books, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881
An imprint of Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc.
www.quorumbooks.com

Printed in the United States of America

The paper used in this book complies with the Permanent Paper Standard issued by the National Information Standards Organization (Z39.481984).

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

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This book is dedicated to businesspeople who believe
in making money by treating consumers kindly and gently.

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Some years ago in the preface of one of my earlier books I stated: It is my hope that this controversial book will raise many issues and be instrumental in the emergence of numerous decisions, debates and above all, socially responsible marketing decisions that will benefit society as a whole (Samli 1992). It is totally the same sentiment in which the present book is written. Only the stakes are higher and the issues are more far-reaching.

Although business decisions are made at the micro level, they have very critical macro implications. The market capitalism is here but where it goes from here is perhaps the most important consideration that would touch us all. The connection between these macro and micro implications touches our lives constantly. Thus, the micro decisions must be just right so that the macro conditions in our economy would improve.

Certainly we know that the market is not perfect. But should it get worse? Should we not have a say as to where it may go? Could the market really correct itself if there was no government? What happens if it is allowed to go in the direction of self-destruction like it almost did in the Great Depression of early 1930s? It is maintained here that unless conscious and proactive actions take place to benefit the corporate entity and consumers simultaneously, the decisions and behavior of certain individual firms could be detrimental to the whole society because they have too much power and

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Exhibit P-1
Contribution of Empowering the Consumer

they dont concern themselves with consumer well-being. In essence they are driven by greed rather than reason and concern.

This book takes the position that the market system, in general, functions like a double-entry accounting process. If consumer value as a whole is enhanced the corporate profit picture also enhances, and this takes society to a higher economic plateau. So why this book? Because although on the surface, at the writing of this book in late 1999 and early 2000 the American economy is doing quite well, in reality it is quite derailed. And if it continues in the same way, there may be a disaster. Many very powerful firms are so much in search of their own advantages over their competitors, they almost forget that they owe their very existence to consumers. Instead of generating consumer value they are engaged in what seems to be an endless merger mania. They are gaining more and more power by buying out their competition and are becoming so powerful that they are terrorizing the consumer. We must go back to having powerful consumers who articulate their needs and wishes. The fulfillment of these needs and wishes lifts up the economy to higher plateaus. In other words the most important ingredient of a nations economy is its