How to communicate sustainable tourism products to customers: results from a choice experiment

This multiphase and empirical study explores the best communication style for reaching different international tourism markets and provides an understanding of how purchase decisions could be better influenced in travel brochures. A pre-test experiment evaluated the perceived emotionality and rationality of communication elements in a fictional travel brochure designed for a typical beach holiday but managed according to sustainability principles. In phase two, a choice experiment was conducted to test how Swiss, German, British and US travellers could be influenced by varying visual and textual communication elements in the fictional brochure (based on Mexico for US respondents and Menorca for all others). The choice experiment produced 3006 responses from an online survey in the four countries. Results confirm a general preference for emotionally laden communication styles for sustainable tourism products, while respondents were indifferent to the emotionality of standard product feature communications. Respondents did not show a preference for the inclusion of a graph explaining the product's sustainability attributes.     

Financial constraints and continental business groups: Evidence from German Konzerns

Using a unique large panel of German firms, we examine whether participation in business groups (Konzerns) reduces the sensitivity of investment to cash flow. The main finding is that the investment sensitivity is significantly reduced for small firms. On the other hand, we do not find clear evidence that medium-sized and large firms participating in Konzerns have different sensitivity compared to that of their stand-alone counterparts. We conclude that the German business model, which embodies key elements of the continental business model, seems to alleviate capital market imperfections for medium-sized and large firms and fails to do so for small firms.     

The effects of overall similarity regarding the customer-to-customer-relationship in a service context

This study applies the similarity effect to customer-to-customer-relationships. First, a customer categorisation in regard to their overall similarity is performed using multidimensional scaling (MDS). Second, overall similarity effects are shown. The predictions are tested based on recent research suggesting that overall similarity has positive effects in relation to attitudes towards the service, attitudes towards other present customers as well as the subject's intentions—such as choosing a service provider and recommending the service provider. Our findings are consistent with our predictions. Furthermore, the service context is discussed controversially and we establish that similarity has an effect beyond different service contexts.     

Transaktionskostenansatz und Personalwirtschaftslehre

Ein h?ufig verwendeter Bezugsrahmen personalwirtschaftlicher Forschung ist der Transaktionskostenansatz. Dieser ist im Prinzip gut geeignet, leidet jedoch bisher unter einigen Anwendungsproblemen, die mit der Spezifit?t von Humankapital, dem zentralen Effizienzkriterium und den verschiedenen Transaktionsebenen in der Personalarbeit zu tun haben. Dieser Beitrag widmet sich diesem Problem, indem der Transaktionskostenansatz kritisch auf seine Schwachstellen hin durchleuchtet wird. Darauf aufbauend wird eine modifizierte, leistungsf?higere Version des Transaktionskostenansatzes pr?sentiert. Durch die Modifikation werden die innere Konsistenz des Ansatzes verbessert und Probleme mit dem Effizienzkriterium vermindert. Zudem k?nnen in der ver?nderten Fassung Transaktionsprobleme unter Berücksichtigung von Anreiz- und Risikoallokationsaspekten sowie auch unabh?ngig von inhaltlich definierten spezifischen Qualifikationen sinnvoll analysiert werden, wodurch der Transaktionskostenansatz für Analysen personalwirtschaftlicher Transaktionen eine breitere Anwendung als zuvor finden kann.     

Managing innovation for sustainability

‘Sustainability’ is a major and growing driver of business change. Its implications for innovation are clear – living and working in a world of up to 9 billion people with rising expectations, providing energy, food and resource security, dealing with climate change, ecosystem degradation, a widening economic divide and a host of other interdependent issues will require massive change in products, services, processes, marketing approaches and the underlying business models which frame them. The focus of this paper is to develop an understanding of new approaches to innovation management required to take account of the growing pressures and emerging opportunities in the ‘sustainability’ agenda. In particular, it draws on case studies of a variety of organisations to help answer the question of what practical actions might be taken beyond the rhetoric of moving towards greater sustainability or ‘greening’ of business.     

艺术作品的物质性 提诺·塞格尔作品中的对象和情境

本文由《艺术如何作为》(How to do things with arr)中有关提诺·塞格尔的章节内容改编而成(该书由JRPRingier出版社出版,2010)谈及20世纪60年代艺术作品传统涵义的颠覆和消解所引起的争论时,丹尼尔·布伦(Daniel Buren)在一次私人谈话中告诉塞斯.西格尔劳伯(Seth Siegelaub),"我认为对象的问题是所有需要面对的问题中最有意思的一个,     

Dysphagie rechtzeitig erkennen

Zusammenfassung  Schluckscreening und Schluckprobe — Auf der Stroke Unit des Dresdener Universit?ts-Schlaganfallzentrums entwickelten die Mitarbeiter ein Assessmentinstrument zur Beurteilung der Schluckf?higkeit ihrer Patienten.     

Der Einsatz mehrjähriger interner Modelle zur Unterstützung von Managemententscheidungen

For value based management, internal models are needed which optimally reflect the insurer’s actual risk situation. Hence, the management demands stochastic models which allow a projection of several future years and so permit a risk evaluation for a longer period because annual projections are in general not sufficient for value based management. To meet these demands a concrete suggestion for an internal model in a several year context is made which includes management strategies. A risk based capital is defined in a several year context which can be used for strategic value based management. In a case study different management strategies are discussed and the effects on the return- and risk-profile of the insurer are analysed (in a one and several year context).