The Evolution of Marketing Channel Research Domains and Methodologies: An Integrative Review and Future Directions

Marketing channels are among the most important elements of any value chain. This is because the bulk of a nation's manufacturing output flows through them. The intermediaries (e.g., distributors, wholesalers, retailers) constituting marketing channels perform specific distribution functions, such as transportation, storage, sales, financing, and relationship building, better than most manufacturers. Over his distinguished career, Louis P. Bucklin investigated many questions about the structuring and functioning of marketing channels using conceptual, empirical, and microeconomics model-based methodologies. Today, the academic marketing literature contains hundreds of articles that have employed these three broad classes of methodologies to investigate issues of channel intermediaries’ interorganizational relationships, for example, power-dependence, relational outcomes, conflict and negotiations, and manufacturing firms’ channel strategy, for example, channel structure, selection, coordination and control. So far, however, there has been no review of how the three different methodologies have contributed to advancing knowledge across this set of channels research domains. This paper is the first that aims to (1) chart how channels research employing each of the three classes of methodologies – conceptual, empirical, microeconomics model-based – has evolved over seven decades along with current trends; (2) review the contributions and shortcomings of research to date using these methodologies; and (3) suggest future research opportunities using these methodologies, separately or in an integrated fashion.     

能源系统动力学应用研究综述

对系统动力学理论在国内外的发展过程以及其在不同领域的广泛应用进行研究,概括了能源系统动力学的实质是系统动力学理论与SD模型在分析各类能源问题的实证研究与应用,报告了能源系统动力学国内外研究现状,总结了系统动力学在能源领域的应用以及其对环境保护、经济发展、社会进步等方面的贡献,并在此基础上展望了能源系统动力学在大数据时代与数据挖掘及GIS等理论结合研究的方向.     

China’s telecommunications evolution,institutions, and policy issues on the eve of 5G: A two-decade retrospect and prospect

Over the past two decades, China’s telecommunications industry has witnessed drastic market reform, steadfast institutionalization, and volatile technological changes, which have driven exponential industry expansion. This paper offers an updated longitudinal and comprehensive review on this reform process on the eve of 5G (the fifth generation mobile communications networks). First, the paper segments the two-decade reform crusade into discernible phases, each of which is embedded with different policy drives. These reform phases are then pattern-matched against the subtleties of the overall institutional, technological, and market backdrop. A series of policy issues are identified through a systematic examination of industry phenomena over the reform course. Finally, the status of research is assessed regarding China’s telecom industry and reform, based on which, knowledge gaps are identified and future research agenda suggested. Conclusions are made regarding future reform and research imperatives. The paper advances the understanding of China’s telecom reform, development, and the underlying policy issues. It updates and expands previous works on similar topics. Overall, this study provides important theoretical, managerial, and policy implications.     

User-generated product reviews on the internet: the drivers and outcomes of the perceived usefulness of product reviews

This study examines how people cope with the user-generated product reviews (UGPRs) found on various websites where anonymous web users post and share their personal product usage experiences. Based on information processing model of communication, we postulate that there are source, message, media, and receiver factors to influence individuals' psychological processing of the UGPR messages, and its subsequent behavioral outcomes. A survey was administered by a professional market research firm to 262 randomly selected US residents from 18 to 55 years old. Consistent with the predictions, the results of the structural equation modeling analysis showed that the perceived source expertise, message objectivity, website credibility, and receiver–source similarity had positive and direct impacts on the perceptions of UGPR usefulness, which, in turn, positively influenced individuals' willingness to share product reviews with others. A series of causal model invariance tests also confirmed that the findings were statistically invariant across different subgroups divided by such factors as product categories, websites, subjective product class knowledge, past UGPR experience, and the susceptibility to informational influence.     

跨国公司撤资研究的述评与展望

随着跨国公司不断地在全球范围内进行直接投资和调整布局,由此引发的撤资行为逐渐受到一定的关注。尽管现有研究成果十分丰富,但作为国际商务活动的跨国公司撤资行为仍然没有得到应有重视和充分解释。本文从跨国公司撤资的含义与类型、动机与原因、影响与对策等方面对国内外现有研究进行梳理,评述了相关研究的进展与不足,并提出未来应该从微观层面对撤资行为进行多学科交叉研究,构建完整的跨国公司撤资理论体系。     

Comparing consumer-produced product reviews across multiple websites with sentiment classification

ABSTRACT

Online consumer reviews have been extensively studied. However, existing literature analyzing online consumer review data mostly relies on a single data source, resulting in potentially biased analytics conclusions. Many websites encourage consumers to post reviews of their purchased products, so that new consumers can evaluate these reviews for the same product across different websites to help them make purchasing decisions. Confusions often arise in this process, because there often exist substantial discrepancies in customer reviews across different retailers on the same product. Clarifying such confusions can help consumers reduce concerns to make up their mind for their purchases, therefore benefiting both consumers and retailers. Through text analytics and sentiment analysis, we comparatively examine the underlying patterns of online consumer reviews of three large retailers including Sears, Home Depot, and Best Buy for a same product. Afterward, we combine online consumer reviews from these large retailers and conduct an overall text analytics and sentiment analysis. The overall results are further compared with the results from individual retailers. The findings show that the sentiment of the online consumer reviews could vary substantially so relying on a single data source to make purchase decision is not a wise idea. Based on the results, we further devise a framework to comparatively examine and integrate multiple data sources for social media analytics of online consumer reviews. This study offers important managerial implications and identifies several new research directions for social media analytics.     

我国餐厨垃圾回收体系的研究现状分析

餐厨垃圾既有污染环境的危害性,又有可利用的资源性,因此为保护环境,实现经济的绿色发展,需要对餐厨垃圾回收体系的建立进行探讨。本文在对相关文献进行综述性研究的基础上,详细描述了我国餐厨垃圾回收体系的理论研究现状,并分析了在实践过程中,我国餐厨垃圾回收体系构建的特点和趋势。     

Including audit regulation in the accounting curriculum

Audits and auditors are regulated to uphold audit quality, thus regulation is important to the public interest and clearly impacts firms and CPAs. Moreover, the reach of audit regulation has expanded greatly in the last decade with the establishment of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB). Recent research and calls from the profession point to enhancing the coverage of audit regulation in the accounting curriculum so that students understand the consequences of failing to adhere to professional standards. In this paper, we propose regulatory content for inclusion in the curriculum, we survey and catalog existing auditing textbooks and other educational materials for regulatory content, and we suggest flexible alternatives for incorporating this topic into the curriculum. It is our hope that, with these resources, faculty can more effectively include audit regulation in the classroom and achieve a high level of student comprehension and learning on the topic.     

如何将生态与文化融入城市发展：基于 英文期刊文献的系统综述

当代建成环境规划设计学界对于可持续城市发展的一般性目标存在相当共识，但在处理城市、生态与文化三者关系上却尚未提出系统性的方法论框架。对7个相关重要英文期刊进行查阅，以期找到可资借鉴的理论方法。采用系统性文献综述法，发现25篇相关文章，按照作者背景、物质载体、研究方法和建议策略4个方面进行归纳总结，讨论了3个未来研究亟待加强的方面，包括开展国际交流合作、拓展对象类型和相关研究方法、丰富对文化内涵的理解，指出了研究在文献搜索范围上的三方面局限性。     

2018年土地科学研究重点进展评述及2019年展望——土地资源、利用与规划分报告

研究目的：总结2018年国内外土地资源、利用与规划领域的研究进展，展望2019年国内研究趋势。研究方法：文献调查法。研究结果：2018年国内研究侧重于土地资源资产、土地生态状况评估、土地利用视角下的碳排放、土地利用及其评价、国土空间规划、村级土地利用规划等方面；国外研究主要集中在土地资源配置与保护、土地生态、土地利用变化与可持续性、土地利用规划实践与应用等方面。研究结论：2018年土地资源、利用与规划研究在基础理论层面探索了国土空间规划体系的重构，深入分析了空间规划、国土空间用途管制与自然资源监管的关系，进一步明确国土空间开发保护制度的科学内涵，构建土地利用研究的框架体系；在实践层面探讨自然资源资产负债表编制中土地资源的核算方法，深化乡村振兴、多规合一视角下的村级土地利用规划研究，提出国土空间规划体系建立的构想。2019年的重点研究方向为：构建国土空间规划体系、加强土地资源理论研究、探索自然资源资产负债表和村规划编制研究、深化节约集约用地和农村土地利用问题研究等方面。