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Slotting allowances and fees have attracted considerable attention and controversy since their introduction in the mid-1980s. Currently, two schools of thought dominate the debate on these fees. One considers them a tool for improving distribution efficiency, whereas the other proposes that the fees operate as a mechanism for enhancing market power and damaging competition. Managers and public policymakers are uncertain as to the effects of slotting fees and the appropriate strategy to adopt. The current study attempts to inform the debate surrounding slotting fees and provide guidance to managers and policymakers. The authors summarize the arguments of the two schools and investigate the views of managers toward them through a large-scale survey of manufacturer, wholesaler, and retailer grocery institutions. Though exploratory, the findings suggest that slotting fees shift the risk of new product introductions and help apportion the demand and supply of new products. The authors find that slotting fees are also associated with the exercise of retailer market power, are applied in a discriminatory fashion, and lead to higher retail prices. The authors encourage further research that examines slotting fees and their effects and indicate prospective directions.

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Tne aiuhors propose a conceptual model of the use of nutrition labels and on-pac.kage claims. Knowledge, perceived diet effectiveness, health status, and skepticism toward claims are all hypothesized to be significant in explaining the tise of package claims and nutrition labels. Results from a preliminary investigation of the relationships among these constructs sho-v that a person's perception of how effective diet is in the fight against disease is related positively to the use of nutrition panel infonnation and package claims. In addition, diet-disease knowledge is related positively to the use of package nutrition infonnation in the forms of both package claims arid panel information. Finally, being at risk for a dietrelated disease is related positively to knowledge about the dietary links to the disease. The atithors discuss policy implications of these findings.