Impact of Islamic Work Ethics on Organizational Citizenship Behaviors and Knowledge-Sharing Behaviors

This study examines the impact of Islamic Work Ethic (IWE) on organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs) and knowledge-sharing behaviors (KSBs) among university employees in Pakistan. A total of 215 respondents from public sector educational institutions participated in this research. The findings suggest that IWE has a positive effect on OCBs. In other words, individuals with high IWE demonstrate more citizenship behaviors than those with low IWE. The findings also suggest a positive effect of IWE on KSBs. Individuals with high IWE exhibit more KSBs than those with low IWE. The paper also discusses the theoretical and practical implications of these findings.     

Pleasure and the Control of Food Intake: An Embodied Cognition Approach to Consumer Self‐Regulation

Consumers try to avoid temptation when exposed to appetizing foods by diverting their attention away from their senses (e.g., sight, smell, mouthfeel) and bodily states (e.g., state of arousal, salivation) in order to focus on their longer term goals (e.g., eating healthily, achieving an ideal body weight). However, when not including sensations in their decision‐making processes, consumers risk depleting their self‐regulatory resources, potentially leading to unhealthy food choices. Conversely, based on the concept of “embodied self‐regulation,” the suggestion is made that considering bodily states may help consumers regulate their food choices more effectively. A new model is proposed that facilitates understanding observed consumer behavior and the success or failure of self‐control in food intake. It is argued that bodily states and sensory information should be considered when modeling consumer behavior and developing health‐related advocacy and communication campaigns. The model proposed here leads to new perspectives on consumer consumption behavior and health policy research and strategies.     

Status, the Distribution of Wealth, and Growth

We analyze a simple model of endogenous growth in which individuals care about both consumption and their rank in the distribution of wealth. We show that the steady-growth rate of the economy increases with both the strength of the status-seeking motive and the initial equality of the wealth distribution. Contrary to the basic model of endogenous growth, the equilibrium growth rate is not necessarily smaller than in the social optimum, and we identify the circumstances under which the two coincide.     

Opportunities and risks of combining shopping experience and artistic elements in the same store: a contribution to the magical functions of the point of sale

ABSTRACT

This article draws on the construct of store atmospherics to address one of the latest developments in that field, i.e. the strategy of incorporating artistic elements into the store. On the one side, incorporating artistic elements in store atmospherics constitutes an innovative way for retailers to differentiate their shopping experience. Such a hybrid retail strategy seeks to offer maximised hedonic gratification to store visitors, while adding symbolic value to the commercial offering. Store traffic and sales are thus stimulated. Incorporating artistic elements is also a magic way to conceal the store’s transactional purpose; through this association with the art world, the store is viewed as less mercantile. However, there is a risk that consumers will view the store as a ‘museum’ and visit without purchasing. Therefore we conduce a conceptual investigation of that experiential strategy in order to assess its effects on retailer’s commercial and marketing performance.     

The dynamics and evolution of the service marketing literature: 1993–2003

This article analyzes service research published in marketing journals between 1993 and 2003. Two levels of analysis of the dynamics and evolution of the service marketing literature are distinguished: first, the dynamics of specific themes of the service marketing literature, and second, the structural evolution of these themes. Through a content analysis, we study the dynamics of individual themes in the service marketing literature as well as the relationships between these themes. Multiple correspondence analysis provides maps of themes and of the most frequent contributors, and a framework to track the structural dynamics and structural evolution of this literature over time. An evaluation of past predictions about the dynamics and evolution of service research is also provided with a discussion of its future.     

Social Reporting as an Organisational Learning Tool? A Theoretical Framework

Social reporting has become an increasingly important dimension of the corporate social responsibility process. The growing necessity to include the social dimension in reporting practices raises important questions about the nature of social responsibility and its impact on corporate and individual behaviour and performance. The literature has yet to provide a reliable theoretical definition of corporate social responsibility and performance, however. Based on the approach proposed by Simons, we argue that organisational reporting about social responsibility can be viewed as a learning tool in some instances. Under this view the design and implementation of corporate social reporting procedures may lead to individual and organisational dynamic changes that foster organisational performance. Research propositions are then derived from the analysis.     

The Evolution of the Distribution of Plant Size: Evidence from Luxemburg

In a recent paper, [Cabral, L. M. B. and J. Mata, 2003, American Economic Review, 93, 1075–1090] using Portuguese manufacturing data have shown for the first time that the plant size distribution is significantly right-skewed at the early part of the life cycle and then changes to become more log-normal. Using a similar proxy for plant age we compare this stylised fact for both Luxembourg manufacturing and services. Use of plants’ true age, however, reveals that the size distribution reverses back towards right-skewness for very old plants. We confirm the finding that the right-skewness is likely driven by financial constraints. The first author gratefully acknowledges financial support from the National Research Fund of Luxembourg. We are grateful for comments by an anonymous referee.