Which Products are More Responsive to In-Store Displays: Utilitarian or Hedonic?

In-store displays aim to boost sales of both utilitarian and hedonic products. Noting typical differences in the information processing and purchase behavior evoked by these product types, and building on congruency theory principles, the authors propose that different types of in-store displays (i.e., island, end-of-aisle, or shelf signage) are more appropriate for utilitarian versus hedonic products, and the use of price or product promotions might reinforce these effects. With a database that combines three data sources (scanner, observational, and survey), this article presents an analysis of a market share model at the SKU level. The results confirm that in-store displays have differential effects on sales, depending on their characteristics; congruency between the decision-making process of utilitarian versus hedonic products and the characteristics of in-store display types moderates their effectiveness in terms of SKU sales. Shelf signage strongly increases the sales of utilitarian products, whereas island and end-of-aisle displays increase sales of hedonic product categories more effectively. The use of congruent promotions creates synergistic influences that reinforce these effects. In particular, price promotions improve the impact of shelf signage on utilitarian products, and product promotions strengthen the impacts of island and end-of-aisle displays on hedonic products. These results extend prior research on in-store marketing actions and the nature of utilitarian versus hedonic products, as well as providing recommendations for retailers and manufacturers seeking to optimize their retail space and commercial budgets.     

The influence of managers' awareness of climate change,perceived climate risk exposure and risk tolerance on the adoption of corporate responses to climate change

Uncertainties posed by climate change limit companies' ability to understand implications of global warming on business and society at large, hampering the adoption of tangible organizational responses to climate change. Understanding climate action thus requires to investigate influential factors of decision-making under uncertainty, which implies acknowledging managerial interpretations and perceptions about climate issues. Drawing insights from the literature on climate inaction and from corporate sustainability literature, the present study examines awareness of climate change and perceived exposure to climate risks as antecedents of corporate responses to climate change, drawing on a survey of managers of Italian manufacturing companies. In addition, the study tests the moderation of risk tolerance on the relation between perceived climate risk exposure and climate action, suggesting that risk attitudes are a significant factor of decision-making under climate uncertainty. The results support the hypothesis of the model and thus provide several contributions to the literature on business and climate change. Managerial implications and avenues for future research are also discussed.     

新一代车险“理赔难”

保险作为现代服务行业之一,服务质量问题始终贯穿其中。其中,“理赔难”的现象层出不穷。从1929年11月在中国上海成立第一家保险公司太平保险,到目前保险行业已发展90余年,中国的车险理赔还难吗?依然难,只是难点变了,老矛盾得到部分解决,新矛盾层出不穷,唯独对理赔服务质量的评价参差不齐是永恒的。     

Is corporate environmental disclosure associated with firm value? A multicountry study of Gulf Cooperation Council firms

Several studies have found a relationship between corporate social and environmental disclosure and firm value (FV) or accounting profitability. Where environmental disclosure has been the focus, though, only single-country studies have been published, and most of the previous research concerns the developed world. This study examines the association between corporate environmental disclosure (CED) and FV in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, where CED has been increasing from its previous low base. Findings from a multicountry sample of 500 firm-year observations using a 55-item unweighted environmental disclosure index suggest that CED is significantly and positively related to FV as measured by Tobin's Q (TBQ). The relationship is robust to using a weighted version of the disclosure index, individual countries and environmental disclosure subindices. Some evidence of a positive relationship between CED and return on assets is also found, but even where statistically significant, the relationship is much weaker than in the case of TBQ. For empirical and theoretical reasons, we recommend that future studies pay greater attention to market-based proxies, if possible, when investigating the value relevance of CED in both developed and developing countries. Our results suggest that both managers and policymakers in GCC countries should take a positive view of expanded CED.     

Trading activity and price discovery in Bitcoin futures markets

This study examines the impact of trading activities on price discovery in the Bitcoin futures markets. We find that trades of hedgers are positively correlated with the modified information shares in both CME and CBOE futures markets, suggesting that their trading promotes futures market efficiency. Retailers’ trading activity relates negatively to the price discovery of the CME Bitcoin futures and thus destabilizes the market. Speculators exert positive (negative) impact on the price discovery in the CME (CBOE) Bitcoin futures. Our finding that CME’s Bitcoin futures exhibit superior price discovery than CBOE’s provides plausible justification for CBOE’s decision in March 2019 to suspend further listings of Bitcoin futures contracts.     

Shariah compliance and corporate cash holdings

This study investigates the influence of Shariah compliance status on cash holding levels and the speed of adjustment of non-financial listed firms in six Gulf Cooperation countries from 2005 to 2016. The results show that Shariah compliance status has a significant effect on firms’ cash holding decisions. Shariah-compliant firms have significantly higher cash holding levels than non-Shariah-compliant firms. Further, Shariah-compliant firms adjust more quickly towards their target cash holdings than their conventional counterparts. In our view, Shariah-compliant firms are subject to multiple restrictions that limit their external financing channels. Therefore, holding larger cash reserves is important as it helps gain from the transaction cost motive of holding cash. The findings of this study have important implications for regulators, investors and managers. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to compare the effect of Shariah compliance on firms’ cash holdings and the speed of adjustment towards the trade-off theory’s optimal cash holding target.     

智慧居家养老服务协同供给的优化路径研究——以广西钦州市智慧居家养老项目的实践经验为例

智慧居家养老服务的协同供给可以形成社会联动效应，降低公共服务成本。运用公共服务协同供给分析框架，通过交叉分类方法从协同主体的利益与目标两个变量的耦合性出发分析广西钦州市智慧居家养老项目中养老服务主体间不同种类的协同关系，可以从加强政府领导、形成合作联盟、建立市场标准、创新扶持政策4个方面完善政府、企业、社会组织之间不同类型的协同供给，实现社会资源的高效利用以及向智慧居家养老服务的发展和转变。     

论数据权益的刑法保护——民刑交错视角下的法益保护论探讨

关于“数据权益的刑法保护”问题，在理论层面上，可从“刑法解释论”和“刑法立法论”两种路径进行探讨。“刑法解释论”探讨路径以现行《刑法》罪名体系为出发点，主要任务是揭示哪些罪名的犯罪构成之设置是以“数据权益”为规范保护目的；“刑法立法论”探讨路径是在刑法立法层面上探讨立法者为在刑法政策上实现数据权益的刑法保护这一目的，动用刑罚禁止何种行为类型才具正当性的问题。然而，两种探讨路径都将依赖于“数据权益”的内涵确定以及法益格的认定问题，换言之，是刑法法益理论在数据权益刑法保护问题上的具体运用。《民法典》第127条并非是关于数据的确权性规定，且在民法理论界关于数据权益的法律属性存在诸多争议的状况下，“数据权益”内涵不明、法律属性不清导致其并不具备作为刑法保护客体的“法益”格。当前刑法理论界存在的关于“数据权益”的刑法类法益保护模式探讨路径，是对刑法法益保护方式的误读，并未触及“数据权益刑法保护”之规范层面问题的实质。“数据安全”法益观的探讨路径则不仅混淆了现象层面与规范层面上的“数据犯罪”概念的界分，也由于没有论证“数据安全”如何能够构成刑法的保护法益，而导致结论过于武断。在理论探讨上，应该明确作为行为客体的物理层面上的“数据”概念与作为保护客体的法益层面上的“数据权益”概念之间的区别，据此明确“数据权益的刑法保护”在规范层面上是否构成新问题。     

Deep learning for modeling the collection rate for third-party buyers

This study evaluates a wide range of machine learning techniques such as deep learning, boosting, and support vector regression to predict the collection rate of more than 65,000 defaulted consumer credits from the telecommunications sector that were bought by a German third-party company. Weighted performance measures were defined based on the value of exposure at default for comparing collection rate models. The approach proposed in this paper is useful for a third-party company in managing the risk of a portfolio of defaulted credit that it purchases. The main finding is that one of the machine learning models we investigate, the deep learning model, performs significantly better out-of-sample than all other methods that can be used by an acquirer of defaulted credits based on weighted-performance measures. By using unweighted performance measures, deep learning and boosting perform similarly. Moreover, we find that using a training set with a larger proportion of the dataset does not improve prediction accuracy significantly when deep learning is used. The general conclusion is that deep learning is a potentially performance-enhancing tool for credit risk management.     

Effects of in-store information quality and store credibility on consumer engagement in green retailing

Literature has reported that store-level information is crucial in determining consumer engagement with green stores. This study examines the effects of in-store (green) information quality on consumer engagement behaviours and mediating effects of store credibility. Moreover, the study reveals whether consumer passion for the environment moderates the effect of in-store (green) information quality on store credibility. Statistical analyses of useable data from 763 respondents examined the relationships. Credibility emerged as a key mechanism to enhance the effects of information quality on consumer engagement. Thus, this study extends theoretical discussions on information quality, consumer passion, and consumer engagement for green retailing.