The Asymmetric Information Problem in Taiwan's Cancer Insurance Market

This paper investigates the problem of asymmetric information in Taiwan’s cancer insurance market. Through the survey data, we find evidence of adverse selection existing in this market. Furthermore, we collect additional information on the individual, and find that the individual’s family cancer history contains additional valuable information. It can not only more accurately predict the probability of contracting cancer, as well as predict the willingness to purchase extended cancer insurance, but it can also help to mitigate the severity of adverse selection in the insurance market.     

Individual and Institutional Investors’ Response to Earnings Reported by Conservative and Non‐Conservative Firms: Evidence from Chinese Financial Markets

In this study, we document that there are significant differences in individual and institutional investors’ perception and interpretation of information based on accounting conservatism, as reflected by their trading behavior in the Chinese financial market. Our findings show that institutional investors, who are more sophisticated and have better skills, engage in higher purchases of equities of firms that use high accounting conservatism compared to the firms that use low/no accounting conservatism. Institutional investors’ equity purchases are even higher if these firms are associated with higher growth opportunities. On the other hand, individual investors are attracted more by the attention‐grabbing events and are motivated to purchase equities of firms that either do not use accounting conservatism or use low accounting conservatism, and their purchases are even higher when the firms report positive earnings surprises. Additionally, we find that abnormal returns are higher for the firms using high accounting conservatism and have experienced higher purchases by institutional investors.     

Local or Global Image? The Role of Consumers' Local–Global Identity in Code-Switched Ad Effectiveness Among Monolinguals

Local and global brands alike have increasingly used code-switching to enhance advertising persuasion. Although this tactic is widely used, previous studies have focused on bilinguals but not monolinguals. Because of the emerging use of code-switching in advertisements in monolingual markets, more research efforts are required to understand its effectiveness and boundaries among monolinguals. This study investigated whether the consumers' local–global identity plays a moderating role in the effectiveness of code-switched advertisements among monolinguals. The consumers' local–global identity refers to the combination of local and global identities possessed by individuals that affect how they define themselves in relation to the social environment. Study 1 (manipulating consumers' local–global identity) demonstrated that the local–global identity moderated the effect of code-switched advertisements. The results indicated that the congruence between code-switching and the consumers' local–global identity enhanced persuasiveness, and that advertising involvement mediated this effect. Study 2 replicated the findings of Study 1 by using a local–global identity measure. These findings provide implications for branding and advertising strategies.     

Do customer participation and cognitive ability influence satisfaction?

Under some circumstances, increased customer participation can enhance customer satisfaction. However, the precise mechanism by which participation might increase satisfaction has not been explored in the literature. This paper considers whether a customer’s cognitive ability might affect the relationship between participation and satisfaction. A causal model has been developed to examine the potential interactive effects of participation and cognitive ability on satisfaction, and a simple quantitative model has been proposed to simulate these effects. The results of both a numerical simulation analysis and a quantitative analysis of case study data indicate a significant main effect of cognitive ability on satisfaction. Additionally, an interactive effect has been observed, whereby higher cognitive ability results in higher satisfaction, given a minimum degree of customer participation in the service. Among this study’s implications is that customers with different cognitive abilities should have different degrees of participation that act to maximize their satisfaction.     

Electronic and in-person service quality of hybrid services

The service industries have experienced dramatic changes in service delivery format because of fast-paced innovation in information technology. Hybrid services involve service deliveries through conventional and technology-enabled environments, each of which is complementary and non-interchangeable. However, limited research has examined consumer behavior in response to a series of relevant service episodes in different channels at different points in time. In other words, how customers perceive service quality at each service encounter and how the cumulative effect of these perceptions influences customers’ overall service value assessment and satisfaction remain unclear. This study addresses this research gap by investigating the sequential influence of e-service quality on in-person service quality in a hybrid service format in which interpersonal and computer-mediated services coexist but at different points in time. Empirical analysis shows that e-service quality directly and positively affects in-person service quality, which fully mediates the effects of e-service quality on perceived value and customer satisfaction. The sequence of service encounters matters because in-person service quality perception has a stronger effect than e-service quality on customer metrics. Cumulative quality perceptions significantly influence perceived value and overall customer satisfaction. Theoretical and managerial implications are presented in the discussion.     

Tourist Satisfaction and Destination Image of Vietnam's Ha Long Bay

Although considerable work has been done on destination image as a whole, far less research has investigated the differences in destination image assessments for domestic versus international visitors in developing countries. This study offers findings that illustrate the differences in perception of destination image, satisfaction attributes, and intention among domestic and international visitors to Ha Long Bay, a United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization World Heritage Site in Vietnam. The results of a survey on 650 tourists suggest that international visitors to the Ha Long Bay region have higher standards and are more critical in their evaluation of services than domestic visitors when judging this destination. Destination image is a common factor determining the level of satisfaction of both groups. Basic and augmented services were found to influence international visitors’ future intention toward the destination. This finding implies that the destination managers of Ha Long Bay need to improve current standard of augmented services to yield higher visitors’ propensity to recommend and return to the destination.     

Barrier present value maximization for a diffusion model of insurance surplus

In this paper, we study a barrier present value (BPV) maximization problem for an insurance entity whose surplus process follows an arithmetic Brownian motion. The BPV is defined as the expected discounted value of a payment made at the time when the surplus process reaches a high barrier level. The insurance entity buys proportional reinsurance and invests in a Black–Scholes market to maximize the BPV. We show that the maximal BPV function is a classical solution to the corresponding Hamilton–Jacobi–Bellman equation and is three times continuously differentiable using a novel operator. Its associated optimal reinsurance-investment control policy is determined by verification techniques.     

优选富铁锌酵母活性干粉的制备

以酿酒酵母为目标菌株,采用梯度驯化的方式对酵母菌进行培养及铁、锌离子的测定,筛选出富集铁、锌的酵母菌株,优化富铁锌酵母干粉的制备条件和复水活化条件,为富铁锌酵母干粉食品化提供理论依据。