Marketing Research With Telephone Surveys: Is It Time to Change?

ABSTRACT

Telephone surveys have been an important mode for collecting primary data in the marketing field in recent decades. However, the scenario of telephone coverage is changing mainly due to a massive increase in mobile phone-only usage, which can put the quality of telephone survey estimates at risk. The advance of mobile phones as the preferred telecommunication is a global phenomenon occurring in every country, although at varying speeds. This article examines the relationship between telephone coverage and the coverage bias of telephone survey estimates in the current scenario of telephone coverage across European countries. Findings reveal that the capacity for fixed-line telephone-based sampling frames to represent the overall adult population is becoming critical, especially in countries with declining fixed-line-telephone penetration rates.     

The effects of optimism bias in teams

This article imports a behavioural perspective into a team context to study the effort-coordination problem among agents. Specifically, we investigate how the presence of optimism bias impacts the severity of the free-rider problem, the organizational structure of the team and the compensation contracts offered to agents in equilibrium. The results indicate that all agents become more reluctant to exert effort and the team welfare decreases when some of its agents are optimistic, suggesting that optimism aggravates the free-rider problem in teams. Appointing a team leader makes all agents work harder, and the team benefits more by having the optimistic agent as its leader. These findings are in sharp contrast to the effects of overconfidence as identified in the literature. It is advisable to pay the optimistic agents less than the rational agents. Encouragingly, optimistic agents can learn about their own bias in the long run, leaving their team without too much detriment of optimism.     

零售寡头横向竞争对渠道纵向关系的影响

本文在一个拓展的豪特林模型基础上，结合家电行业案例，研究了零售寡头之间的横向竞争如何影响渠道纵向关系。结论表明：在由寡头零售商与垄断竞争供货商形成的渠道结构中，零售商纵向压价的动机可以在竞争对手的销售相对较小、且供货商不愿放弃销售机会的情况下变为现实；零售商都将不断扩张网点来抑制对手的低价购入与压价行为，并争夺供货商货源；随着零售商销售能力的提升，其对于供货商的谈判能力将不断增强，进而压低上游供货商的价格，影响渠道纵向关系。     

美国“本国货币规则”析评

本国货币规则是指法院对诉讼请求为支付外国货币的案件做出判决时,必须将外国货币转换为本国货币予以判决的规则。本国货币规则主要存在于英美法系,大陆法系少有。美国本国货币规则的渊源未形成定论;其转换基准日有多种规则,常根据汇率发生变化。美国本国货币规则中蕴涵了国家货币主权、有利于美元的国际地位等国家利益;但其又存在着歧视外国货币、违背合同的意思自治原则、阻碍国际经济交往的内在缺陷。本国货币规则体现的国家主权理念和对国家利益的捍卫值得我国借鉴。     

中外物流定义比较分析与建议

将我国国家标准中物流定义与世界上几种较有权威及出现频率较高的物流定义进行系统比较和分析，指出其间的差异及我国物流定义中的不足之处，并提出修订物流定义的建议。     

THE TRANSFORMATIVE POWER OF THE INTERNATIONAL SOJOURN: An Ethnographic Study of the International Student Experience

The findings from an ethnographic study of international postgraduate students’ adjustment journey through life in England illustrates the transformative potential of the international student sojourn. It is shown that removal from the familiar home environment gave students freedom from cultural and familial expectations and the opportunity for self-discovery, whilst exposure to a new culture offered them the chance to improve their cross-cultural communication skills. The durability of change was questioned by students who were apprehensive about re-entry to the origin culture and the receptivity of those left behind to the changes they had made. By pointing to the possible similarities between the experiences of international students and long-stay tourists, this paper calls for research into the outcome of long-stay tourism, in order to measure the extent of change in tourists’ self-concept and cross-cultural awareness.     

Three Factors to Signal Non‐Response Bias With Applications to Categorical Auxiliary Variables

Non‐response causes bias in survey estimates. The unknown bias can be reduced, for example as in this paper by the use of a calibration estimator built on powerful auxiliary information. Still, some bias will always remain. A bias reduction indicator is proposed and expressed as a product of three factors reflecting familiar statistical ideas. These factors provide a useful perspective on the components that constitute non‐response bias in estimates. To illustrate the indicator, we focus on the important case with information defined by one or more categorical auxiliary variables, each expressed by two or more properties or traits. Together, the auxiliary variables may represent a large number of traits, more or less important for bias reduction. An examination of the three factors of the bias reduction indicator brings the insight that the ultimate auxiliary vector for calibration need not or should not contain all available traits; some are unimportant or detrimental to bias reduction. The question becomes one of selection of traits, not of complete auxiliary variables. Empirical examples are given, and a stepwise procedure for selecting important traits is proposed.     

Analysis of family education and school education association

Home education and school education can affect the students'growth greatly;each of them plays an important role in the process of students'growth.As the most important education during the process of children's growth,how to bring their advantages have been a hot topic and also a difficult topic.Meanwhile,they still bring some disadvantages respectively.     

Statistical Issues in Assessing Forensic Evidence

In 2009, the National Academy of Sciences released a report that emphasized the need for more scientific research in the evaluation of methods in the forensic science disciplines. This needed research includes statistical issues such as bias quantification, validation and estimates of accuracy and precision in different contexts. This article reviews statistical aspects of forensic science with particular reference to the design of studies that are essential to evaluate inferences from forensic evidence. Many sources can affect both the accuracy and the consistency of decisions at each stage of the process, from specimen collection to final decision. The article discusses the importance of identifying these sources and the statistical principles involved in the quantification of, and uncertainty in, estimated probabilities of error. By contrasting the design of a successful community clinical trial with two previous fingerprint studies and with bullet lead studies, this article emphasizes the need for reduced subjectivity, the types of measurements on physical evidence that can lead to more accurate and consistent decisions and the importance of carefully designed studies in the evaluation of forensic evidence.     

一类家电产品品类优化问题研究

以某大型超市家电处白色家电部门为研究对象,在分析该企业进销存流程、销售数据、市场竞争和需求等现状的基础上,针对该部门的具体问题提出了一套品类结构调整方案,以解决目前该品类入选商品不合理和资金回报率过低的问题,进而实现提升部门利润的目的。