Sustainable food consumption among young adults in Belgium: Theory of planned behaviour and the role of confidence and values

This study investigates determinants of sustainable food consumer behaviour in Belgium. To gain a better insight in sustainable consumption, a study was conducted in which attitudes and behaviour as well as the role of individual characteristics like confidence and values related to sustainable products are analyzed. The focus of the analysis is on exploring the influence of determinants as hypothesised by the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) - attitudes, perceived behavioural control, social norms - on sustainable consumption intention in general, and specifically depending on consumer's perceived confidence and personal values. The empirical research builds on a survey with a sample of 456 young adults using a questionnaire and showing an advertisement for hypothetical sustainable dairy products. Stepwise multiple regression models showed that 50% of the variance in intention to consume sustainable dairy was explained by the combination of personal attitudes, perceived social influences, perceived consumer effectiveness and perceived availability. In addition, different levels of confidence and value orientation yield different strengths of the determinants. The findings yield public policy and marketing recommendations for stimulating sustainable food consumption among young adults.     

Who is afraid of political risk? Multinational firms and their choice of capital structure

This paper investigates how multinational firms choose the capital structure of their foreign affiliates in response to political risk. We focus on two choice variables, the leverage and the ownership structure of the foreign affiliate, and we distinguish different types of political risk, such as expropriation, unreliable intellectual property rights and confiscatory taxation. In our theoretical analysis we find that, as political risk increases, the ownership share tends to decrease, whereas leverage can both increase or decrease, depending on the type of political risk. Using the Microdatabase Direct Investment of the Deutsche Bundesbank, we find supportive evidence for these different effects.     

Interactive analysis of high-dimensional association structures with graphical models

Graphical chain models are a powerful tool for analyzing multivariate data. Their practical use may still be cumbersome in some respects, since fitting the model requires a lengthy selection strategy based on the calculation of an enormous number of different regressions. In this paper, we present a computer system especially designed for the calculation of graphical chain models, which will not only automatically carry out the model search but also visualize the corresponding graph at each stage of the model fit. In addition, it allows the user to modify the graph and to fit the model interactively.     

Unwilling to leave the good Samaritans: How peer interpersonal-oriented citizenship behaviors retains “me”

An emerging body of turnover literature has adopted a relational perspective with a focus on peer influence. In this study, by drawing on the social information processing perspective, we attempt to explain how and when other team members’ interpersonal-oriented citizenship behavior (ICB), as symbolic cues, reduced focal member’s turnover intention. Based on a sample of 462 employees across 80 teams from 13 Chinese organizations, we found the symbolic cues of peer ICB enhanced team cohesion and then reduced focal employees’ turnover intention. In addition, servant leadership weakened the negative effect of peer ICB on turnover intention through team cohesion. These findings expand current theorization of the relational perspective and knowledge about how and when peer interpersonal citizenship behavior thwarts focal employee turnover intentions.

     

Why am I ostracized and how would I react? — A review of workplace ostracism research

Ostracism is an important issue in the workplace and studies on this issue are diverse and large. This paper comprehensively reviews the literature related to workplace ostracism in five aspects. First, in discussing why ostracism occurs, it outlines that individuals are ostracized due to their dispositions, ability and skills, behavioral features, and perpetrators’ ostracism motives. Second, in investigating the consequences of ostracism, it outlines that victims would respond with affective and attitudinal, physical, and behavioral tendencies, and these reactions can be either positive or negative. Third, in describing specific mechanisms for ostracism to take effect, it summarizes that threat-to-needs as well as affective and cognitive responses play important roles. Fourth, regarding the mixed findings of ostracism’s impact, it points out that extant inconsistencies lie in individual differences, temporal effects, and situational cues. Last, in recommending future research areas, it suggests several promising directions, particularly the role of culture in shaping victims’ responses to ostracism. We hope this article will be a good foundation for management researchers in Asia Pacific regions to conduct indigenous studies of workplace ostracism relevant to their own contexts.     

Investment and employment from large-scale photovoltaics up to 2050

Investments in renewable energy were at US$211 billion in 2010 and developing economies overtook developed ones for the first time in terms of new financial investments in renewable energy. Photovoltaics for generation of electricity from sunlight has the highest growth rate among the competing forms of renewable energy and has now begun to achieve grid parity in some regions. If these trends of investments continue, solar energy will play a major economic role. We analyze these developments and assess the ensuing amounts of investment and employment for a range of sizes of the sector of solar energy. We find that by 2050 electricity from photovoltaics could cover up to 90% of total global energy demand, with a then global capital investment in our main scenario in photovoltaic manufacturing capacity at 500 billion US$211 billion in 2010 and developing economies overtook developed ones for the first time in terms of new financial investments in renewable energy. Photovoltaics for generation of electricity from sunlight has the highest growth rate among the competing forms of renewable energy and has now begun to achieve grid parity in some regions. If these trends of investments continue, solar energy will play a major economic role. We analyze these developments and assess the ensuing amounts of investment and employment for a range of sizes of the sector of solar energy. We find that by 2050 electricity from photovoltaics could cover up to 90% of total global energy demand, with a then global capital investment in our main scenario in photovoltaic manufacturing capacity at 500 billion US₂₀₁₀ by around 2030 and 1,500 billion by 2050. Employment in photovoltaic manufacturing is predicted to rise to 6 million by 2050. Sensitivity analysis with respect to the core parameters of assumptions is supplied.     

Consumer Dispute Resolution after The Lisbon Treaty: Collective Actions and Alternative Procedures

Access to justice remains a major challenge in EU consumer law, which has become more pressing with growing cross-border purchases, negatively affecting the common market. Moreover, a recent surge in supranational mass damages cases has highlighted market failures and the need for collective procedures. Under the Lisbon Treaty, new opportunities have arisen to close this civil justice gap. This article analyzes how the wider competences of the EU on access to justice can facilitate consumer redress, by putting special emphasis on the issue of the affordability of litigation, which has been so far underexplored. This work argues that collective procedures, combined with coherent out-of-court mechanisms and funding schemes, are key elements of an effective consumer dispute resolution system. In particular, specific cases and financing models are assessed, which have the potential to foster judicial protection of consumers.     

Hochleistungsfähige Kommunikationsnetze: Wer investiert?

Germany faces a qualitative change in communication. Broadband applications and Internet services have created an ecosystem with new value chains. Demand for bandwidth is growing rapidly. In ten years’ time we expect a transformation to a gigabit economy that relies on very high capacity networks. In Germany, competitors of the former incumbent Deutsche Telekom are the main investors in very high capacity broadband. Internationally, Germany is lagging behind in the coverage of gigabit networks, which leads to a high risk for its future competitiveness. The financing of urgently needed investment seems feasible when taking into consideration today’s private investments, international benchmarks and state aid programmes. The government has to set growth-fostering conditions with a clear commitment to a Gigabit network now.     

When and why attribute sorting affects attribute weights in decision-making

Information about alternatives often appears in a multi-option multi-attribute table, with the alternatives hierarchically sorted on attribute levels. This research shows that the choice of the primary sorting attribute can affect peoples' evaluations. Three studies show that the attribute on which options are primarily sorted becomes more important in preference formation, but only if this attribute is hard to evaluate. This sorting effect disappears if attribute level evaluation is rendered easier. Eye-movement data further show that the time to evaluate a given attribute level, a proxy for evaluation effort, mediates the effect of choice of sorting attribute on attribute weight in option evaluation.