Flexible estimation of price response functions using retail scanner data

Kalyanam and Shively [1998. Estimating irregular pricing effects: a stochastic spline regression approach. Journal of Marketing Research 35 (1), 16–29] and van Heerde et al. [2001. Semiparametric analysis to estimate the deal effect curve. Journal of Marketing Research 38 (2), 197–215] have demonstrated the usefulness of nonparametric regression to estimate pricing effects flexibly. The empirical results of these two studies, however, also revealed that nonparametric regression may suffer from too much flexibility leading to nonmonotonic shapes for price effects. In this paper, we show how the problem of nonmonotonicity can be dealt with without losing the power of flexible estimation techniques. We propose a semiparametric approach based on Bayesian P-splines with monotonicity constraints imposed on own- and cross-price effects. In an empirical application, we illustrate that flexible estimation of own- and cross-price effects can improve the predictive validity of a sales response model substantially, even when price response curves were constrained to show a monotonic shape, as suggested by economic theory. We also discuss the consequences from an unconstrained estimation of price effects.     

Service provider responses to anxious and angry customers: different challenges, different payoffs

Anxiety and anger, two frequently experienced emotions during service consumption, arise from different appraisals of the eliciting event, i.e., attribution to uncontrollable circumstances and low coping potential for anxiety versus attribution to providers and high coping potential for anger. These appraisal differences were hypothesized to impact the occurrence of supportive provider responses (higher for anxiety than for anger), and the value given to supportive responses by anxious versus angry customers (higher evaluation for anxiety than for anger). It was also hypothesized that, although evaluation of provider response would mediate the relationship between the intensity of both anger and anxiety and satisfaction with the service encounter as a whole, the power of this mediating effect would be stronger for anxiety than for anger. Hypotheses were confirmed in a survey of air travel passengers reporting episodes of anxiety and anger. Implications of these results for challenges and payoffs involved in the development of adaptive response strategies to anxious and angry customers are discussed.     

供应链企业之间信任问题研究

本文认为,信任在供应链管理中具有十分重要的作用,它是供应链的关键组织原则,是供应链企业相互合作的前提和基础,是保证供应链正常运转的支柱,可以提高整个供应链快速响应客户的能力。影响供应链企业间信任的因素多种多样,既有宏观因素,也有微观因素(如满足客户需求能力、信息沟通与共享程度及利益公平和程序公平的程度等)。企业要维护和提升供应链企业之间的信任,必须增强自身的核心竞争力,提高信息沟通与共享能力,进行经常性的沟通、交流,设计有效契约,并建立信任机制。     

Consumer perceptions of refund depth and competitive scope in price-matching guarantees: effects on store patronage

The study investigates the effect of two characteristics of price-matching guarantees—the depth of refund offer and the scope of competitors eligible for price matching—on consumer perceptions of price-matching guarantee believability and value and consumer intentions to patronize the retailer. The results show that large refund offers built consumer patronage intentions by enhancing perceptions of the value of the price-matching guarantee, while simultaneously exerting a negative impact on patronage by reducing believability of the price-matching promise. The competitive scope also affected the patronage intentions by influencing the perceived value of the price-matching policy.     

A Four-Country Study of the Associations Between Bribery and Unethical Actions

The purpose of this research is to extend prior research testing the premise that small deviations from ethical behavior lead to even larger deviations from ethical behavior. This study examines the association between a person’s willingness to bribe a police officer to avoid being issued a speeding ticket with their views on inappropriate behavior of corporate executives. Our sample of 528 participants comes from Colombia (90), Ecuador (70), South Africa (131) and the United States (237). As part of our data gathering, we controlled for social desirability response bias in the responses of the students who participated in our study. Our data indicate significant differences between the views of the students from Colombia, Ecuador, and South Africa when compared to the views of the students from the United States. The analysis indicates that, for all four dilemmas, the most significant variable was the belief about how ethical it was to pay a bribe to avoid a traffic ticket. In addition, in three of our four dilemmas, Paulhus’ Impression Management Subscale, which measures social desirability response bias, was the second most significant variable. Finally, in three of the four dilemmas, the students from Colombia, Ecuador and South Africa thought the actions described in the dilemmas were less ethical than the students from the United States.

中国财政政策动态效应的实证分析:1998~2004

本文对中国1998~2004年间实行的积极性财政政策的动态效应进行了实证研究。基于对数据性质的考察,我们选用了结构性VECM模型来研究。在结构性模型中,我们引入了长期约束和短期约束来识别宏观经济变量中的冲击向量,并利用脉冲响应函数和方差分解的方法,对冲击向量的动态效应进行实证研究。模型的实证结果表明,财政支出冲击对总产出具有正向效应而税收收入冲击则具有负向效应,且支出冲击的正效应略大于税收收入的负效应。该结论印证了凯恩斯主义关于财政政策的主要结论。同时实证结果对我国1998年以来的积极财政政策的效果给予了支持:增加财政支出的效应很大程度上被同期税收收入的增长所抵消,财政政策对产出的贡献并不像预期的那么显著。     

基于AHP法的人民银行应急能力评估研究——以济南分行为例

应急评估是当前应急管理理论和实践中的热点和难点问题。本文针对人民银行应急评估工作现状和存在问题、总结国内外有关应急评估经验,以层次分析法(AHP)为基本方法,构建了以应急能力为核心指标的人民银行应急评估量化模型,并通过评估案例实证检验和分析了该模型的可行性和有效性。     

我国房地产价格影响因素及其作用效应的计量检验

目前,房地产价格的过快增长已经成为影响民生的突出问题,房地产价格的增长远远超过了居民消费和收入水平的增长。我国政府已经将遏制部分城市房价过快上涨势头、满足人民群众的基本住房需求、促进房地产市场平稳健康发展作为房地产市场的宏观调控目标。因此对房地产价格的影响因素进行实证研究,可以为我国宏观政策的制定与实施提供经验证据。     

跨境供应链技术性贸易壁垒应对机制探析

分析了中国面对技术性贸易壁垒现状及中国技术性贸易问题,提出了跨境供应链移除壁垒的几点政策建议。     

Does high supply chain integration enhance customer response speed?

The capability of customer response speed is commonly employed by firms that wish to strengthen their relationship with customers in order to maintain a high level of service in a hypercompetitive environment of rapidly changing technology. Improved customer response speed also helps manufacturers respond more rapidly to satisfy customer needs. However, does high level of supply chain integration with customers have positive impact on customer response speed? This study proposes a conceptual model to examine antecedents to better firm performance, with customer response speed as a mediator. The conceptual model was empirically tested using data collected from 809 manufacturing companies in the Greater China Region. The results show that the nature of the relationship between customer integration and customer response speed may vary substantially from one area to another. Also, customer response speed mediates between customer integration and firm performance in China and Taiwan.