STABILITY OF THE UTILITY MAXIMIZATION PROBLEM WITH RANDOM ENDOWMENT IN INCOMPLETE MARKETS

We perform a stability analysis for the utility maximization problem in a general semimartingale model where both liquid and illiquid assets (random endowments) are present. Small misspecifications of preferences (as modeled via expected utility), as well as views of the world or the market model (as modeled via subjective probabilities) are considered. Simple sufficient conditions are given for the problem to be well posed, in the sense that the optimal wealth and the marginal utility‐based prices are continuous functionals of preferences and probabilistic views.     

Pricing and Cost Recovery for Internet Services: Practical Review,Classification, and Application of Relevant Models

Suitable pricing models for Internet services represent one of the main prerequisites for a successfully running implementation of a charging and accounting system. This paper introduces general aspects influencing the choice of a pricing model in practical situations and presents a survey as well as a classification of relevant and advanced approaches to be found in the scientific literature. First performance results on charging extensions within the Internet are presented, which are completed by a set of market price simulations for dynamic pricing models within the same implementation environment. Based on cost model investigations some detailed insights into price and cost issues from an Internet Service Provider's (ISP) point of view are given. Moreover, current challenges as well as problems are discussed in a practical context as investigated in the Swiss National Science Foundation project Charging and Accounting Technology for the Internet (CATI).     

Accessing Online Data: Web‐Crawling and Information‐Scraping Techniques to Automate the Assembly of Research Data

There is a growing interest in leveraging alternate sources of empirical data, with an increasing emphasis being placed on the Internet. This paper serves as a primer for supply chain management (SCM) researchers that may be interested in leveraging Internet‐based sources for their own research, but perhaps not familiar with how to begin. Here, definitions and concepts critical to successful implementation in practice are provided. In addition, concrete, discipline‐relevant examples accompany the discussion, and are aided by a fully detailed online code supplement. Performance enhancements are discussed, as well as associated caveats and limitations. Additionally, insights and guidance are offered on the unique responsibilities for researchers to uphold the ethical spirit of scientific research when continuing along these paths. Pragmatic issues related to the application of these techniques are presented for consideration of individual researchers and the SCM community as a whole.     

The FTC's handling of puffery and other selling claims made “by implication”

The Federal Trade Commission's handling of alleged false advertising representations that are made by implication is examined. Alleged false advertising presentations are held to be implied to the public by the advertiser even though they are not literally stated in his advertisement. The FTC has extended its reach over this kind of misrepresentation in recent years. Cases for 1970–76 are identified, and a catalog is developed of ten types of implications that have been attacked as deceptive during this period. Some, such as the Expansion Implication, are types established as deceptive in earlier years; others, such as the Reasonable Basis Implication, were not attacked prior to the 1970s. Some types, such as the Uniqueness Implication, have been given considerable publicity; others, such as the Inconspicuous Context Implication, are newly categorized in this paper. The consequences of FTC's identification of these types of implications, and of its growing attention to the possibility of misrepresentation by implication, are discussed in detail. A prediction is offered that attention to implications will continue to increase for some time in the future. Puffery is discussed as a category which the FTC might recognize in the future as a type of implied misrepresentation; a rationale is offered for regulating such claims. The role of the researcher is examined, using the assumption that greater attention to misrepresentation that extends beyond a message's literal meaning will produce a greater need for research. The researcher will have attractive opportunities for such work, but will have to confront the problem that playing an advocacy role in legal proceedings may involve significant conflicts with the impartial role that is appropriate for the academic researcher.     

新乡市沿黄地区休闲农业开发研究

本文分析了新乡市沿黄地区休闲农业开发的有利条件,如丰富的休闲农业资源与悠久的历史文化、便捷的交通、庞大的客源市场、面临良好的发展机遇及现状、地方政府的大力支持和提倡等,并提出了相应的对策与建议。     

Models of Consumer Bankruptcy: Implications for Research and Policy

The author explores three models of individual bankruptcy law which might provide some guidance for analysing policy and for posing further research questions in relation to bankruptcy as a legal and social institution. The models are: (1) Bankruptcy law as a response to deviant behaviour; (2) Bankruptcy as consumer protection; (3) Bankruptcy as social welfare law. Some tentative thoughts are also offered on the comparative analysis of consumer bankruptcy as a focus for understanding relationships between legal and social norms.     

Deriving joint space positioning maps from consumer preference ratings

Joint space multidimensional scaling maps are often utilized for positioning analyses and are estimated on survey samples of consumer preferences, choices, considerations, or intentions so as to provide a concise spatial depiction of the competitive landscape including relevant dimensions or attributes, competing brands, and consumers in the same joint space representation. Care has to be given concerning the underlying scale properties of such survey data so as not to distort the resulting joint space positioning map. We present a new joint space multidimensional scaling procedure for positioning analyses for displaying the structure in such survey data when such common ordered successive category measurement scales such as Likert, Edwards, semantic differential, etc., are employed. We present the technical details of this stochastic ordered preference multidimensional scaling vector model as well as the maximum likelihood estimation-based algorithm devised for parameter estimation. Favorable comparisons are made with several existent multidimensional scaling methods in representing the internal structure for such data in marketing positioning studies. An actual commercial positioning application concerning large sports utility vehicles consideration to buy judgments is presented with predictive validation comparisons with other multidimensional scaling joint space procedures.     

The Use of Sponsorship-Linked Marketing by Tobacco Firms: International Public Policy Issues

Worldwide, the marketing and promotion practices of tobacco firms are coming under scrutiny. Although tobacco advertising in traditional media such as television has been banned in most countries for many years, the use of nontraditional media such as sponsorship has only recently come into question. This paper analyzes how sponsorship-linked marketing programs function like advertising in promoting tobacco products. The various marketing tactics utilized by international tobacco firms are discussed as are policy recommendations for governments, businesses, households, and communities that seek to reduce tobacco promotion in their environments.     

Premium generic brand (PGB) choice vis-à-vis generic and national brands: A scenario comparison for self-use,family consumption and gift giving in a food versus non-food and cross-cultural context

PurposeThe study models factors affecting brand category choice for generic as well as national brands, and next contrasts them to a new brand category: premium generic brands (PGB). PGB are a new occurrence in brand and product management, and consumer reactions to PGB are not yet well understood.Design/methodology/approachThree purchase motivation scenarios were presented to 553 consumers to test for their purchase intentions for self-consumption, family use or gift giving. A quasi-experiment was chosen where respondents were exposed to store-like presentations of actual real life products and asked for their likelihood to choose the national or generic brand over the new PGB. The study applied multivariate testing such as MANOVA.FindingsSeparate models were developed for food and non-food choice through backward deletion regression analyses, and the most parsimonious models revealed strong similarities for self as well as family consumption choices, but distinct drivers for gifts. Value for money, image and satisfaction are key factors in brand choice overall, but for gifts, ‘image’ overpowers all other predictors.Originality/valueThe study identified the Chinese as a distinct consumer segment for brand choice since they are more open to potentially consider PGB as gifts, whereas Caucasians only buy national brands for gift giving.     

Corporate governance in Russia: a framework for analysis

In the past several years, the Putin government’s goal of joining the World Trade Organization, as well as the critical shortage of investment funds in the country, have been prime levers in raising the importance of corporate governance in Russia. While most research has addressed relatively discrete aspects of the topic, this article provides an integrative framework for analyzing corporate governance in Russia. With large companies as the focus, the framework is particularly appropriate for companies in transitioning economies whose corporate governance systems are still developing. The framework draws on a cultural-embeddedness model as well as agency and stakeholder theories. Propositions for corporate governance in large Russian companies are developed for exploration in future research.     

Integrated Marketing Communications and Market Planning

Abstract

This article links the integrated marketing communications (IMC) concept to the planning process in marketing. Following the current conceptualizations as a combination of various marketing communications tools, IMC strategy is applied to an established strategic market planning model named the Boston Consulting Group (BCG)'s growth-share matrix. Advertising, public relations, sales promotion, and direct marketing are defined as crucial elements for the core scheme. Alternative strategies for brands in different stages are identified from the product portfolio analysis. The view may also be thought of as the ongoing process of building and maintaining brand equity for consumers in the long-term period. Conceptual discussions are expected to help marketers think more strategically as they plan IMC programs for their products or services.     

Adoption rate forecasts and rollout strategies

Long-term broadband penetration forecasts for Western Europe are presented. The broadband penetration forecasts are adjusted according to the broadband coverage. The adjusted forecasts are defined as adoption rate forecasts. These forecasts are used as input to the techno-economic calculations to examine broadband roll out in the different access area types. The paper documents the profitability of broadband rollouts in sparsely populated areas and estimates the limits for having monopoly areas as a function of given characteristics. The identified monopoly areas will of course contribute to higher broadband coverage because the profitability in these small areas will be better than earlier expected because of none competition.     

Consumer responses to trade-offs in eco-friendly clothing: The moderating effects of fashion leadership and regulatory focus

Consumers of eco-friendly clothing often face trade-offs between eco-friendliness and other product attributes. Across two experiments, we investigate the moderating role of fashion leadership and regulatory focus in such trade-off situations. Our results suggest that while non-fashion leaders are willing to trade-off hedonic attributes for eco-friendliness, fashion leaders are not willing to trade-off either hedonic or utilitarian attributes. It is also suggested that prevention-focused fashion leaders are more likely than promotion-focused fashion leaders to trade-off hedonic attributes for eco-friendliness. Implications for practitioners as well as directions for future research are discussed.     

Are entrepreneurs' decisions more biased? An experimental investigation of the susceptibility to status quo bias

Entrepreneurship research has demonstrated that entrepreneurs are more susceptible to certain cognitive biases than are selected other individuals. We investigate whether this finding holds for the status quo bias not yet investigated in the entrepreneurship literature. The status quo bias is defined as the tendency to select a previously chosen alternative disproportionately often. We compare entrepreneurs' decisions with those of students and bankers in an experimental study. We find that entrepreneurs are as affected by the status quo as students but less affected than bankers. Accounting for differences in experience and types of decision scenarios, we have indirect evidence for a consistency of entrepreneurs' decisions with what would be expected from a stereotypical Schumpeterian entrepreneur: being more open to new options than other individuals are. However, since entrepreneurs are frequently influenced by the status quo, we discuss the pros and cons of such behavior.     

What is at Stake in the Doha Round?

In this study the key elements of the WTO Doha Round are simulated and the main implications for international trade and national income are analysed. Based on negotiation information, three scenarios are designed. All scenarios encompass goods, services and agricultural liberalisation as well as trade facilitation. For goods liberalisation, a so‐called Swiss formula is used to cut bound tariff rates. Agricultural tariffs are cut according to a tiered linear formula. Attention has been given to the modelling of trade facilitation. Indirect as well as direct trade transaction costs are modelled. For simulation of the services liberalisation quantitative estimates of indirect trade barriers are used. The simulation results show that all regions in the aggregation gain in the simulated Doha scenarios, with a particularly strong result for developing countries. A conservative estimate is that global income increases with 0.2–0.7 per cent of initial GDP, depending on the level of liberalisation. Trade facilitation contributes the most to these results, with increased market access for non‐agricultural goods coming in second place. Overall, simulations indicate the importance of countries’ own liberalisation for their national income gains, and the importance of a broad‐based round.     

Relationship between portfolio diversification and value at risk: Empirical evidence

This research explores the risk associated with the stocks prices in the seventeen selected companies that are listed in Indian BSE (100) National as well as portfolios of investment that are constructed from these seventeen companies employed. Additionally, for considering the possibility of international diversification, construction of portfolios of investment form stock price indexes in various emerging markets and developed countries of the world is considered. Correlations for domestically as well as internationally diversified portfolios are computed to unveil the relationship between stock prices of various firms as well as domestic and internationally diversified portfolios of investments. Further, to understand the effect of diversification on the risk associated with each of the portfolios of investments employed, value at risk analysis (VaR) is undertaken for studying the benefits associated with domestic as well as international diversification (if any).The study results show that domestic diversification lowers the expected losses associated with each of the domestic portfolios of investment employed where the international diversification substantially mitigates the portfolio risks. Results from VaR analysis reveal that diversification lowers the portfolio risks and additional reduction in portfolio risks is realized by international diversification.     

Complimentary competition: The impact of positive competitor reviews on review credibility and consumer purchase intentions

Online reviews are important decision aids for consumers, but not all reviews are perceived as equally credible, which may hinder consumer decisions. This research identifies positive competitor reviews as a novel source of credible reviews. A pre-test and four studies show that consumers perceive positive reviews written by competitors as more credible than similar consumer-generated reviews. This is because, compared to lay consumers, competitors are perceived as less likely to be compensated for their positive reviews. Positive competitor views, in turn, elicit greater intentions to purchase the reviewed product. Positive competitor reviews are expected to contribute to a “coopetitive” environment.     

Challenges for Research Ethics and Moral Knowledge Construction in the Applied Social Sciences

Certain critical accounts of conventional research practices in business and the social sciences are explored in this essay. These accounts derive from alternative social paradigms and their underlying assumptions about appropriate social inquiry and knowledge construction. Among these alternative social paradigms, metatheories, mindscapes, or worldviews are social constructionist, critical, feminist, and postmodern or poststructural thinking. Individuals with these assumptions and values for knowledge construction are increasingly challenging conventional scholarship in what has been referred to as paradigm debates or wars. Issues of incommensurability or cross-paradigmatic communication potentials, as well as reflexivity, are raised in terms of moral education and development potentials for applied social science fields. Barriers and suggestions for increased moral development in academic and professional communities are discussed. In particular, moral forums in which participants have enhanced intrapersonal and interpersonal communication skills appear to be needed to surface and share often taken-for-granted assumptions concerning moral knowledge construction.     

柳秋合 如画人生

<正>2007年,文莱公主出嫁,各国为表示祝贺和友好,纷纷送去礼品道贺。而在这众多礼品中,最被公主喜爱的,当属中国赠送的一个内画着文莱特色景观的水晶球。这个水晶球因文莱公主的喜爱在当时颇为轰动,而创作出这个备受瞩目的水晶球的,是中国的一位知名内画师——柳秋合。     

Predicting Customer Satisfaction from ATMs: A Cross Country Study

ABSTRACT

In recent years, churches and religious organizations have come to recognize they are involved in marketing activities. A review of the religion journals found 17 articles on marketing issues published since 1976. Reasons for religious organization resistance, as well as gradual acceptance of marketing, are discussed. Opportunities for future research are considered.