Market Positioning of Differentiated Products

A brand is a mean of product differentiation and a kind of a sign by which we can distinguish one commodity from another. Consumers' utility, as well as commodity prices are affected by brands. Therefore, the market positioning of branded products is important for firms, too, since it affects profits. This paper presents a theoretical framework that incorporates aspects of brand in microeconomic analysis and the tools for an effective market positioning of differentiated products. A case study illustrates the workings of the methodology; the application evaluates the quality of major tyres producers and undertakes their market positioning.     

Experience from a multivenue program to increase the use of car restraints in Greece

Objectives To evaluate a multivenue educational campaign aimed at increasing the use of car restraints in Greater Athens, Greece. Methods From October 1997 to June 1998, the campaign was implemented by a road safety coalition comprising 50 governmental and non-governmental organizations, while during the same period, seat belt law enforcement was not intensified. A pre-intervention survey was conducted in the summer of 1996 among the occupants of 1400 passenger cars and a post-intervention survey was carried out in the summer of 1998 (2250 cars). Both surveys followed the same protocol, focusing on the availability and use of seat belts. The data from the two surveys were modeled through multiple logistic regression. Results The odds ratio of seat belt use was significantly higher in 1998 than in 1996 (1.8 with 95% confidence interval = 1.5-2.1). Improvement was evident in highway traffic and among 25-64 year-old car occupants, but it was minimal among rear seat passengers, younger occupants, and in low-speed city and suburban traffic. There is evidence from the 1998 surveys that among front seat occupants, those travelling in larger engine capacity cars, frequently equipped with airbags, were less likely to use seat belts, whereas seat belting was more frequent among occupants of newer car models. Conclusion An education and information campaign in a Southern European country resulted in increased prevalence of seat belt use. A more intensive and sustained effort is required, however, to increase seat belt use in low-speed traffic and among rear seat occupants.     

Exchange rate pass-through and relative prices: An industry-level empirical investigation

In this paper we explore the extent of exchange rate pass-through for the USA, UK and Japan using a post-Bretton Woods industry-level dataset. We investigate how different channels of exchange rate pass-through affect domestic and import prices. Our analysis is suggestive of two channels of transmission and we find considerable variation in the extent of pass-through across industries and countries.     

The Role of Place Image Dimensions in Residents' Support for Tourism Development

Understanding residents' perceptions of tourism impacts and their level of support for its development is considered vital for the sustainable development of tourism. Despite the plethora of factors examined as determinants of residents' attitudes toward tourism, the role of residents' place image has been under‐examined. This study developed a model examining the relationships between residents' place image dimensions, perceived tourism impacts and support for development. Findings suggest that two (physical appearance, social environment) out of the four place image dimensions identified in this study exercise a significant effect on residents' attitudes toward tourism. The theoretical and practical implications to the formation of planning and development programs for tourism are discussed. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Unconventional adjustment strategies for rural households in the less developed areas in Greece

International competition in agricultural production is intensifying following the implementation of the 1993 accord of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. The production of conventional farm products in surplus is being discouraged by means of indirect economic disincentives. The Common Agricultural Policy has already adjusted to unprotected national markets within the European Union and greater market orientation is being achieved mainly through price reductions. Farmers in the less developed areas in Greece, where agricultural activity is still the main source of income and employment, have been responding to policy reforms by seeking part-time employment and income in non-farm enterprises. The adoption of alternative, unconventional farm enterprises that use farm resources in an innovative and quantitatively different way does have the potential for bringing in a new source of income to farm business. For the purpose of this research three adjustment strategies were recognised. The ‘conventional’ (no change) pathway is based on traditional, region-specific products, production methods and services. The adoption of the ‘new crop’ pathway refers to the redeployment of resources into new agricultural products, whereas farms on the market integration Pathway redeploy resources into new marketing services and agricultural product processing on the farm. The new crop and the market integration pathways are identified as unconventional adjustment strategies. Results derived from multinomial logit analysis highlight the major constraints and opportunities associated with the adoption of new crops and market integration practices. Farmers who have adopted unconventional practices are influenced by factors external to the farm. such as contacts with institutions, and have a high probability of having higher debts. These farmers are likely to depend heavily on seasonal labour and rented land. The fact that market integration activities are associated with smaller farms in conjunction with off-farm work signifies the importance of establishing an integrated rural development policy approach. Public policy involvement in enhancing dissemination of information concerning unconventional enterprises is emphasised.     

Education and growth: A simple model with complicated dynamics

We construct a simple model of education and growth in which children spend a fraction of their time and parents spend a fraction of their income on education. Both a strategic complementarity and an intergenerational externality are present. The interactions between each pair of consecutive generations lead to rich dynamics. We show that multiple growth equilibria arise, some of them periodic and some aperiodic. We also find a negative correlation between volatility and growth, without a one‐way causal relationship between the two being, necessarily, present. Rather, this negative correlation is driven by the structural characteristics of the economy.     

African agricultural productivity and the transatlantic slave trade: evidence from Senegambia in the nineteenth century

Agriculture has played a central role in Africa's long‐term economic development. Previous research has argued that the low productivity of African economies has posed significant challenges to African efforts to produce an agricultural surplus or to develop commercial agriculture. Low agricultural productivity has also served as a key explanation for the transatlantic slave trade, on the basis that it was more profitable to export humans overseas than to grow and export produce. However, the field has suffered from a lack of comparable empirical evidence. This article contributes to this field by presenting quantitative data on historical land and labour productivity in Africa, from a case study of the agricultural productivity of Senegambia in the early nineteenth century. Focusing on five key crops, our results suggest that both land and labour productivity was lower in Senegambia than it was in all other parts of the world for which we have found comparable data. This article thus lends support to claims that stress ecological factors as one of the main determinants of Africa's historical development.     

Real-time co-creation and nowness service: lessons from tourism and hospitality

Brands take advantage of technology, social media and constant connectivity to foster organic consumer engagement and interactions towards co-creating personalised customer service. Real-time service offers dynamic engagement with connected consumers. Brands in tourism and hospitality use technology to dynamically enhance consumer experience through co-creation. The integration of real-time consumer intelligence, dynamic big data mining, artificial intelligence, and contextualisation can transform service co-creation by mobilising recourses in the ecosystem. Nowness service emerges by dynamically engaging consumers in experience cocreation in real time. It has five interconnected characteristics that revolutionise the tourism and hospitality, namely: real-time, co-creation, data-driven, consumer-centric and experience co-creation.     

Do institutions prevent contagion in financial markets? Evidence from the European debt crisis

ABSTRACT

The recent European Sovereign Debt Crisis brought in attention a number of structural problems in the European Union. Part of the effort to correct these problems in the countries that were mostly affected by the crisis were a number of policy responses from the European Union, the European Central Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the Local Governments. In this study, we attempt to assess the success of these responses to constrain the contagion of the crisis from the banking sector to the real economy sectors of the Eurozone countries. Our results show that policy announcements from the EU/ECB/IMF affect the transmission of shocks generated in the banking sector to the market. Moreover, policy responses of the national governments also seem to play a role in the contagion of the crisis.