Educational Financing and Lifetime Earnings

This paper formulates and estimates a dynamic programming model of optimal educational financing decisions. The main purpose of the paper is to measure the effect of short-term parental cash transfers, received during school, on educational borrowing and in-school work decisions, and on post-graduation lifetime earnings. The estimated parameters of the model imply that parental cash transfers do not significantly influence post-graduation lifetime earnings. Long-term factors such as family background and prior human capital investments are more important. Parental cash transfers do, however, significantly determine the decision to borrow or work during school and the level of lifetime consumption.     

Understanding Factors Leading to Participation in Supplemental Instruction Programs in Introductory Accounting Courses

Abstract

Although studies have shown that supplemental instruction (SI) programs can have positive effects in introductory accounting courses, these programs experience low participation rates. Thus, our study is the first to examine the factors leading to student participation in SI programs. We do this through a survey instrument based on the Theory of Planned Behavior. Our study shows that students' attitudes toward the sessions affect their intent to participate in them. This attitude is influenced by students' perceptions that the sessions can help them in various ways. Results also show that influential others can influence student intent to participate in SI sessions. We also note that students' perceptions of the amount of personal control that they have over going to SI sessions have no effect on their participation in the sessions. We discuss how these findings can be leveraged to increase SI participation rates.     

Evaluating food retailers using dual elasticities of substitution

Dual elasticities of substitution from a distance function model of the food retailing establishment are developed based on multiple performance measures integrated with store characteristics, staffing decisions, and employee benefits and incentives. The impacts of organizational and competitive conditions such as store format, membership in a self-distributing chain, and the presence of a supercenter on store management decisions are evaluated. Technical substitution relationships implied by the dual Morishima elasticities confirm that moderate changes in relative shadow factor prices are associated with input adjustments in retail operations, implying that the costs of adjusting input allocations are small. Both value added and service offerings decline in the presence of a supercenter, with food retailers relying on price adjustments as a primary strategy.     

Through bubbles and crises: An analysis of the <Emphasis Type="Italic">Journal of Financial Services Marketing</Emphasis> from 2000 to 2012

This article presents an analysis of all publications of the Journal of Financial Services Marketing (JFSM), from 2000 until the end of 2012. The objectives of this study were: (i) to compare the subjects covered by the journal with industry trends, and identify opportunities for future research, and (ii) to assess the journal’s development over time and its influence in the field of financial services marketing. Data for this content analysis was collected manually from the publisher’s Website and from each paper, and a grounded theory approach was used to group the papers into clusters based on emerging themes. The study indicates that JFSM has been successful in covering the industry’s most important trends, including mobile banking, relationship management, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and service quality. A number of gaps were identified, in particular regarding mobile banking services and the impact of new online business models (for example, PayPal, crowdfunding, Bitcoin). These findings should assist JFSM’s editorial board to determine its future direction, and offer readers insight into industry trends and the journal’s role in covering them.     

Methods to Manage Information Sources for Software Product Managers in the Energy Market

The German energy market is facing several challenges due to changes in regulation, technical advancements as well as increasing energy costs and climate achievements like CO₂ reduction. This results in changing requirements for companies in the energy market and thus business information systems, which support their core tasks and processes. Software product managers in energy and software developing companies in charge of driving the functional development of information systems have to deal with these challenges and need to develop new information systems or enhance existing ones. Conceptual models proved helpful to design and implement information systems within several industries. However, identification and management of models as well as impact analysis of model changes results difficult. This contribution describes methods to construct, use and maintain a domain specific reference model catalogue to support requirements analysis for software product manager in the German electricity and gas market.     

Adolescents’ perceived brand deprivation stress and its implications for corporate and consumer well‐being

Stress can impact various aspects of a person's well‐being. While some researchers have suggested that consumption‐related activities may cause stress, no research has yet explored such stress among vulnerable, younger consumers. To better understand this phenomenon, the concept of adolescents’ perceived brand deprivation stress (BDS) is introduced as a state of tension perceived negatively by a young consumer when he or she does not have specific brands from a particular product category. In a series of three studies with adolescents aged 11–17 years, a reliable and valid measure of BDS is developed and a framework encompassing antecedents and consequences of it is tested. This research demonstrates that an adolescent's peer group compared to the media exerts the strongest influence on BDS which is also affected by product involvement and age. In turn, stress influences both brand purchase intentions and psychosomatic illnesses, with the latter being reduced by consumer self‐confidence. The studies show that BDS is real, but seemingly problematic for only a small portion of vulnerable adolescents. The findings suggest that marketers should be cautious when targeting young consumers and that educational programs aimed at developing consumer skills and confidence in adolescents are advisable.     

Hedonic shopping motivation and co-shopper influence on utilitarian grocery shopping in superstores

Much prior literature has focused on how hedonic shopping motivation operates in hedonic shopping environments such as shopping malls, but few empirical studies have assessed hedonic shopping motivation effects in utilitarian shopping environments. Combining a field survey (Study 1) with observation using video ethnography (Study 2), our research addresses this issue. Our results empirically reveal how, through both psychological and behavioral routes, hedonic shopper motivation affects purchases in a utilitarian shopping environment, specifically a section of a superstore selling predominantly utilitarian products. Hedonic shopping motivation is found to induce consumer impulsiveness (psychological route) while also encouraging shoppers to stay longer in a store (behavioral route), which when combined result in greater consumer purchases than either route alone. Additionally we observe a moderating effect of co-shopper influences on these two routes. Implications of these findings are discussed.     

Digitalisierung für Gesundheit — ökonomische Aspekte des Gutachtens des SVR Gesundheit

Wirtschaftsdienst - Am 24. März 2021 hat der ?Sachverständigenrat zur Begutachtung der Entwicklung im Gesundheitswesen“ sein Gutachten ?Digitalisierung für...