The effects of customers’ perceptions of brand personality in casual theme restaurants

Although existing studies recommend that restaurant chains develop and communicate salient brand personalities, no research to date provides empirical evidence that perceptions of unique brand personality by consumers lead to positive outcomes in the restaurant business. Therefore, using a sample of 336 adults, this research models the causal relationships between brand personality perceptions, brand preference, attitudinal loyalty, and positive word-of-mouth (W-O-M) behavior for the Olive Garden and Chili's restaurant chains. It was found that for both chains, brand personality perceptions have a positive effect on brand preference and attitudinal loyalty, brand preference has a positive impact on attitudinal loyalty, and attitudinal loyalty has a positive influence on positive word-of-mouth (W-O-M) communication. In addition, for the Olive Garden and Chili's brands, it was also found that there is a direct link between brand preference and word-of-mouth behavior.     

Application of appreciative inquiry in tourism research in rural communities

Appreciative inquiry is a participatory research method based on positive psychology. Founded upon grounded theory and the social constructivist paradigm, appreciative inquiry is a simple, effective, and epistemologically sound tool to understand the rural population’s knowledge, needs, and priorities without alienating them from research. Based on the study conducted to comprehend the interrelationships among conservation, livelihood, and tourism development in three rural communities located in the vicinity of Chitwan National Park, Nepal, this study argues that appreciative inquiry can be a useful tool for conducting tourism research in rural communities. This study employs five steps, including grounding, discovery, dream, design, and destiny.     

Psychological Capital: Impacts on Asset Management

Drawing together the areas of behavioral finance and positive psychology, the present research sought to investigate whether the psychological capital of investment fund managers is associated with fund performance in a context of financial instability. The theoretical propositions were presented and evaluated empirically through primary data on investment fund manager profiles and secondary data on the cumulative stock fund returns. The results indicate that funds managed by managers with greater resilience and optimism obtained a higher return than the mean profitability in a period of market instability.     

Accrual accounting does not necessarily mean accrual accounting: Factors that counteract compliance with accounting standards in Swedish municipal accounting

The regulation of Swedish municipal accounting has undergone fundamental changes over recent decades. Municipal accounting became regulated by law the 1st of January, 1998 after having been merely voluntarily regulated in the past. In accordance with the legislation, a standard-setting body was formed, with responsibility for development and interpretation of generally accepted accounting principles for municipal accounting. Important aims of the legislation and reform were to suppress ‘creative’ accounting and to increase the level of harmonization and comparability. Using the lens of positive accounting theory as well as institutional theory, this paper describes and explains the impact of the legislation and standard setting in the Swedish municipal sector. We have used a triangulation approach, collecting data through a survey, documentary study and interviews. The overall results show that the reform has had a very limited impact on accounting practice. Compliance with accounting standards was in general poor. This result is in line with the assumptions of positive accounting theory. However, the study also shows that there are differences among the preparers which can be explained by institutional theory. Large municipalities produce better accounting information (i.e. more in line with generally accepted accounting principles) than the municipalities in general. Weak audit quality seems to be another important factor that explains the poor compliance with accounting standards.     

支持新能源产业发展的税收政策探讨

近年来我国新能源产业得到了迅猛发展,但产业发展与市场培育极不均衡,核心技术较为缺乏。现有的税收扶持政策过于零散,政策力度和系统配套不够,协调配合作用难以发挥,没有针对新能源产业发展实际,形成相对独立的税收体系。据此,税收政策应从生产和消费两大环节同时入手,并以正向激励政策和逆向限制政策鼓励新能源的实际利用,支持新能源产业发展。     

The involvement and influence of emotions in problematic business relationships

This paper discusses emotions as mediators in business-to-business relationships which is an understudied topic. Yet within consumer marketing, emotions have been widely studied, and calls have been made for business relationship research to take account of managers' emotions. This study addresses the gap by firstly establishing the relevance of emotions in problematic business relationships and secondly showing how emotions are a major component in determining the outcomes of the problematic relationships. Interview data in the form of narratives describing problematic relationships is analyzed and identifies both the emotions experienced by participants and their role in the future course of the business relationship.     

日本“肯定列表制度”对我国，农产品出口的影响

关于日本"肯定列表制度"对我国农产品出口的影响,虽然有很多论述,然大多都是定性分析。本文利用最新的数据,运用移动平均剔除法模型,进行定量分析,估算出日本"肯定列表制度"对我国农产品贸易的损失,并提出应对之经验和对策。     

B2B品牌价值的构成及其影响因素研究

目前,国内外现有的品牌理论与策略大多数针对的是B2C产品,如海尔、三星、可口可乐等。与此同时,随着思科、IBM、GE等一些B2B企业制造了强有力的品牌,增强了竞争优势,树立了良好的企业形象,创造了巨大的经济效益。越来越多的学者看到了分析和建立B2B品牌价值的重要性和必要性。本文首先简明扼要地阐述B2B市场中,品牌价值的重要性和不可或缺性;而后重点分析构成B2B品牌价值的两个维度:而后分析了影响品牌功能价值的四个要素:功能价值、情感价值、而后分析了关系价值和环境价值。     

上市公司融资偏好实证分析--以湖北为例

本文选取湖北省26家上市公司三年的年度数据为样本进行实证分析,得出上市公司融资以“外源融资为主、内源融资为辅,偏好债务融资,并呈现债务融资、折旧融资、股权融资、保留盈余的融资顺序”的结论。并简要分析了上市公司形成这一融资偏好的原因并提出了相关建议。