Impact of customers' assessment of website attributes on e-relationship in the securities brokerage industry: A multichannel perspective

The paper focuses on the comparison between pure e-retailers and multichannel retailers' customers and how they differ in their evaluations of functional and relational attributes of the website, as well as how these attributes impact online relationships. An online survey among online securities investors was conducted. Subjects were self-selected from blogs and forums dedicated to personal finance. A total of 326 questionnaires formed the final sample of this study. By using a series of univariate analyses of variance, structural equation modeling, and multi-group analysis, this research empirically demonstrates that the e-service quality evaluation and determinants of online relationship are different in multichannel contexts versus pure online ones. Results show that customers of multichannel retailers are not more loyal than those of pure online retailers. However, multichannel retailers exceed pure online retailers at achieving a higher level of online trust and a higher assessment of website features. The paper concludes with managerial implications that may be useful in multichannel retailing.     

An estimation of returns to scale of airport airsides under multiple optimal solutions in DEA

The returns to scale (RTS) nature of 37 Chinese airport airsides are investigated in this paper. Multiple optimal solutions in DEA (Data Envelopment Analysis) models may lead to error RTS estimation. To address this problem, we use the (Zhu and Shen, 1995) RTS method. The empirical study shows that all those airsides with two runways operate under decreasing RTS and those airsides with only one runway either operate in the area of increasing RTS or in the area of constant RTS.     

Analysis of tourism information sources using a Mokken Scale perspective

This study contributes to the analysis of information sources as a determinant of the travel decision-making process. It focuses on the use of Mokken Scale Analysis (MSA) as a new methodological approach to detect unidimensional hierarchical scale in the analysis of information sources. The paper shows how MSA can be applied in the tourism field. Findings reveal two different scales (active and passive information search scales) for classifying information sources in tourism. Variations in the scales are revealed, taking socio-demographic and travel behavioural variables into consideration. The conclusions clearly explain the implications for tourism marketers and make recommendations for future research.     

An assessment of organic apparel,environmental beliefs and consumer preferences via fashion innovativeness

The topic of organic apparel has been widely discussed among academics and practitioners in recent years. While numerous studies have been done on the topic, few studies to date have assessed the topic of fashion innovativeness and its influence on attitudes towards organic apparel. In addition, an evaluation of consumer preferences for organic apparel from a conjoint analysis perspective has not been implemented. Thus, the purpose of the present study was to identify which organic apparel attributes are most important to high fashion innovativeness and low fashion innovativeness groups. Furthermore, the variables of environmental beliefs and attitudes towards purchasing organic apparel were assessed. An online survey was developed to measure the variables, including a full profile discrete choice design used to measure attribute preferences for t‐shirts. The data were analyzed using a multinomial logit model and desirability indices. The results indicated that the low fashion innovativeness group preferred organic and eco‐friendly apparel more than the high fashion innovativeness group. In addition, when examining high fashion innovativeness and low fashion innovativeness groups overall, the preferred t‐shirt was Dri‐Fit, Cotton Jersey Knit, Made In America, Eco‐Friendly and $25.00. However, when examining high fashion innovativeness and low fashion innovativeness groups separately for the preferred t‐shirt, differences appeared in Sustainable. The results suggest that high fashion innovativeness and low fashion innovativeness groups may desire different organic apparel attributes when considering organic apparel.     

经济欠发达地区民间借贷问题研究——基于桂林的样本数据

随着社会主义市场经济的发展,民间借贷现象逐渐被重视,而经济欠发达地区的民间借贷行为由于其鲜明的特点和运行机理尤其引人关注。本文以桂林辖区民间借贷为样本,在分析民间借贷现状、特征的基础上,试图探讨经济欠发达地区民间借贷的经济政策效应及监测体系,以达到为货币政策制定和执行提供参考的目的。     

'More is not necessarily better': the relationship between the quantity and quality of training efforts

International comparisons indicate that, on average, Belgian companies spend less on training than their French, German and Dutch counterparts. Encouraging companies to commit to training has consequently been an important policy goal over the last few years. One notable aspect of the policy to encourage training efforts by companies is that the effort is always represented in terms of the resources invested (input), not in terms of the learning achieved (output) or the quality of training programmes (throughput). Government policy is aimed at increasing the level of investment in company training. One of the questions we wish to investigate is whether this input-oriented approach to the training issue is actually effective. Whether companies will succeed in raising human capital to ever-increasing levels may depend not only (and maybe not even chiefly) on the extent of financial investment in training. The investment level does not necessarily determine the quality of the training processes developed by companies. Therefore, this paper focuses on the following research questions: (1) to what extent do companies monitor the systematic development of sufficiently effective training processes? In other words, is qualitative under-investment an issue, alongside financial under-investment? (2) Is the level of financial investment in company training correlated to the quality of training processes? The empirical data confirm that a kind of 'qualitative' under-investment can be reported and that the relationship between the level of investment in training and the quality of the training programmes is weak.     

基于贝塞尔曲线的中、美、日利率期限结构静态研究

利率期限结构曲线的静态拟合是指,使用不同类型的数学函数近似地描述整条利率期限结构曲线。当前最流行的静态拟合方法是利用B样条曲线来拟合利率曲线。然而,该方法往往受制于阶数的限制,而仅仅停留在3阶。本文通过利用B样条曲线的特殊形式——Bezier曲线拟合了中国、美国、日本国债利率的期限结构曲线,获得了一种可以升阶的拟合方法。同时,将复杂的曲线拟合计算,简化为对散点的聚类分析,取得了中国利率期限结构的模型。     

基于信号传递博弈的融资租赁市场均衡分析

融资租赁作为一种新的金融工具,已被诸多经济发达的国家普遍采用,并成为其金融市场的重要组成部分。在我国中小企业融资难的情况下,融资租赁也不失为中小企业融资的一种可供选择的方式。本文借鉴斯宾塞劳动力市场信号传递模型,构建一个符合我国中小企业融资市场实际状况的融资租赁市场调控模型。研究结果表明:融资租赁市场的均衡既取决于承租方的装裱成本,也取决于不同类型承租方的租金差异、低营运能力承租方的项目投入的成功率及低营运能力承租方的信用程度(即履约率)。     

Risk-based decision analysis in support of precautionary policies

A decision-analytic model for avoiding a risky activity is presented. The model considers the benefit and cost of avoiding the activity, the probability that the activity is unsafe, and scientific tests or studies that could be conducted to revise the probability that the activity is unsafe. For a single decision maker, thresholds are identified for his or her current subjective probability that the activity is unsafe. These thresholds indicate whether the preferred course of action is avoiding the activity without further study, engaging in the activity without further study, or conducting a test or research programme to obtain additional information and following the result. When these thresholds are low, precautionary action is more likely to be warranted. When there are multiple stakeholders, differences in their perceptions of the benefit and cost of avoidance and differences in their perceptions of the accuracy of the additional information provided by the test or research programme combine to create differences in their decision thresholds. Thus, the model allows for the rational expression of differences among parties in a way that highlights disagreements and possible paths to conflict resolution. The model is illustrated with an application to phytosanitary standards in international trade and examined in terms of recent empirical research on lay perceptions of risks, benefits, and trust. Further research is suggested to improve the elicitation of model components, as a way of fostering the legitimate application of risk-based decision analysis in precautionary policy making.     

C2C电子商务卖家及其产品成交量的多层线性影响分析

论文以淘宝网为对象收集样本,运用多层线性模型研究价格、信息描述、默认排名、卖家信用度和卖家好评率对成交量的影响。结果显示成交量在不同商家间存在显著的差异,价格和信息描述会对成交量产生重要影响而默认排名影响不显著,卖家信用度和卖家好评率会对成交量产生显著的影响。