Dimensions of Market Attractiveness: Competitively Interactive Spatial Models*

This paper presents a normative, multidisciplinary approach for evaluating market entry strategies with concern for the effects of spatial assumptions on performance expectations. An assessment framework is linked to a series of models that show the value of adding spatial and competitive perspectives to typical baseline conceptualizations of market opportunity. Criteria for assessing market attractiveness are discussed with special concern for the problems of field service firms whose market boundaries are not limited by fixed facility locations. The problem is conceptualized as the managerial decision to locate a new brokerage office in a highly competitive regional market area. Realistic constraints are established by focusing the market entry decision through aggregate data from secondary sources that are readily available to an outsider who had not been active in the geographic markets considered. A simple model based on market potential is progressively enhanced with spatially adjusted measures of market attractiveness and competitive resistance. Empirical tests highlight the impact of alternative model formulations and choice criteria on the decision-making process.     

Improving Understanding About Tanning Behaviors in College Students: A Pilot Study

Abstract

Objective: Melanoma is the second most common cancer diagnosed among 15- to 29-year-olds. This pilot study assessed behaviors, barriers, and beliefs relevant to sun exposure and protective behaviors. Participants: The sample comprised 153 undergraduate students at a large state university in western New York. Methods: Participants completed an online survey about sun safety habits, barriers to using sunblock, and beliefs about tanning and sun exposure. Results: Response rate was 90.8% (n = 139). Most students (87.8%) reportedly spent ≥ 3 hours per day outside in the summer, but only 17.3% reported always using sunblock during this time. Sixty percent reported recent indoor tanning and 41% reported more than 10 lifetime sunburns. The greatest barrier to using sunblock was forgetting (84.2%). Conclusions: Demographics coupled with inconsistent and low levels of sunblock use, high annual prevalence of indoor tanning, and multiple lifetime sunburns indicate that this sample is at high risk for skin cancer.