Unfairness in consumer services: Outcomes of differential treatment of new and existing clients

In a consumption context, there is a growing interest in understanding unfair behaviour of firms towards customers. Our research focuses on unfairness perceptions driven by differential treatment, particularly through price discrimination, i.e. the practice of charging differential prices to different customers. Our purpose is to investigate the consequences of these practices for unfairness perceptions, satisfaction, trust and patronage, showing a dual perspective: the perceptions of new vs existing clients when they face the advantaged or disadvantaged conditions. A survey-based experimental design approach was used. We conclude that unfairness perception is stronger for existing than for new clients, prompting negative attitudinal and behavioural consequences when the former are exposed to disadvantaged conditions in relation to the latter. Our study aims to provide marketers with a perspective on the pitfalls related to differential treatment between present and prospective clients, with implications in terms of design and implementation of customer management strategies.     

Price image consequences

This study investigates the consequences of price image. Two conditions, a policy of intermediate price condition and a policy of low price condition, were distinguished in an experiment. Three moderators (consumers' price conscientiousness, retailer's motives perceived by consumers and consumers' familiarity with the retailer) were considered for these two conditions. Using partial least squares analyses (PLS), we propose integrated models of the consequences of price image highlighting the direct and indirect effects of this concept on consumers' satisfaction, trust, attitude and future behavioral intentions to the retailer. This research fills a gap in the literature since previous studies have mainly focused on the antecedents of price image or have only investigated specific links between the variables considered. Finally, considering our findings, we recommend to managers to favor either a policy of intermediate or low price depending of their consumers' characteristics.     

Leading national brands facing store brands competition: Is price competitiveness the only thing that matters?

Store Brands (SBs) have experienced a strong increase in both value and unit sales internationally during the last decades; thus their market share has been constantly growing. Starting from these considerations, the present work aims at deepening the topic of inter-brand competition within the FMCG market and, in particular, the market share trade-off between Leading National Brands (LNBs) and Store Brands. Our empirical analysis is based on panel data about 322 product categories sold within the Modern Grocery Distribution stores in the 2010–2013 period. Results obtained show: (i) the existence of a relationship between the increase in the LNB-SB price gap and the switching of market share from the former towards the latter; (ii) the consolidation of a change in consumers' purchasing preference in favor of SBs; (iii) the existence of an inverse relationship between the inter-brand competition intensity and the retail branding life cycle evolutionary stage, which is different for each product category.     

Price promotion with reference price effects in supply chain

We consider the price promotion in a supply chain comprising one manufacturer and one retailer, who take into account the reference price effects of consumers. The problem is analyzed as a manufacturer-lead Stackelberg game. The results indicate that reference price effects could mitigate “double marginalization” effects, and improve the channel efficiency. We also show that the optimal price promotion benefits the manufacturer, retailer and consumers in consumer promotion model. Furthermore, we provide the conditions under which the retailer has an interest in offering price promotion to consumers. Finally, we employ numerical analysis to demonstrate more managerial insights.     

Land prices and unemployment

We integrate the housing market and the labor market in a dynamic general equilibrium model with credit and search frictions. We argue that the labor channel, combined with the standard credit channel, provides a strong transmission mechanism that can deliver a potential solution to the Shimer (2005) puzzle. The model is confronted with U.S. macroeconomic time series. The estimation results account for two prominent facts observed in the data. First, land prices and unemployment move in opposite directions over the business cycle. Second, a shock that moves land prices also generates the observed large volatility of unemployment.     

金融发展、资产泡沫与实体经济: 一个文献综述

近年来的金融危机和不同国家的发展路径促使经济学家们反思资产泡沫与实体经济之间的关系。过去几年主流经济学中开始涌现出一些富有洞见的相关理论和实证文献。本文通过一条逻辑主线对基于这些文献的进展进行了系统评述。资产泡沫产生于金融市场的不完全性,它既影响实体经济的效率和增长,也影响实体经济的波动。其中,金融发展程度(金融市场的完全性)扮演了重要的角色。金融发展程度会影响到资产泡沫的产生;而资产泡沫既可以缓解经济中的扭曲,也可以加剧经济中的扭曲,使得经济增长偏离黄金律。制度质量则会强化金融发展程度的影响。金融发展程度与制度质量在开放经济的情况下,还会影响到资本在国际间的流向和结构,从而对实体经济的增长和波动产生更复杂的影响。本文中所综述的理论洞见对于中国这类金融市场欠发达、正面临金融自由化与结构转型的新兴市场经济体尤其具有重要的政策含义。本文最后讨论了中国金融改革和金融发展中需要注意的一些问题。     

The High‐Rise Home: Verticality as Practice in London

This article investigates the relationship between verticality and home. It develops the idea of ‘verticality as practice'. This appreciates verticality not as something that takes place in three‐dimensional landscapes, but as the outcome of everyday practical activity. Examining a modernist high‐rise estate, the Aylesbury Estate in London, the article identifies and examines a range of vertical practices, illustrating how they are intertwined with home. Vertical practices, such as those associated with the view, help to make a unique and special home, becoming intensely meaningful to residents. However, they also unmake dimensions of home when they interact with the estate's marginality.     

Mr. Market's Mind: Finance's Hard Problem

The market as a mind is the implicit premise in any discussion on whether the market is rational or not. Still, its implications, in terms of ontology and epistemology, are hardly understood. In particular, this paper defines the market's version of the mind-body problem and labels it as finance's “hard” problem. Its denial by modern finance causes this dominant paradigm to fail in dealing with reality in general and to produce incomplete investment knowledge in particular. Finally, as part of facing up to this problem, this paper offers a glimpse at a practical approach which may enrich investment research.     

房地产市场调控，要坚持更要完善——“十年调控”问卷调查的启示和思考

通过对196份问卷的总结分析，得到对于未来房地产调控的许多启示：十年房地产调控是必要的；总体评价消极的依据是供求依然失衡，房价越来越高。调控成效不彰的原因有：对住房供求政策、调控配套政策评价消极，还认为财政税收压力是地方政府不积极的首要原因。大多数问卷建议：推动供求和房价基本稳定还是调控首要目的确立；房价合理上升的几个界限；房地产调节机制应该以市场调节为主、政府调节为辅；明确住房需求政策、住房供给政策、住房土地政策、经济手段、行政手段和税收手段改进的方向。     

A theory of collusion with partial mutual understanding

Unlawful collusion is when firms have a mutual understanding to coordinate their behavior for the purpose of achieving a supracompetitive outcome. Given the legal focus on mutual beliefs, this paper explores the role of mutual beliefs in producing collusion. Focusing on price leadership, firms are assumed to commonly believe that price increases will be at least matched but lack any shared understanding about who will lead, when they will, and at what prices. Sufficient conditions are derived which ensure that supracompetitive prices emerge. However, price is bounded below the maximal equilibrium price.