Spouses' materialism: Effects of parenthood status,personality type,and sex

This study responds to a call for broadened conceptualizations of materialism and its role in self-definition (Richins & Dawson, 1992). Data from 202 spouses were analyzed for relationships among materialism, parenthood status, and personality type, defined as spousal warmness or coolness (Csikszentmihalyi & Rochberg-Halton, 1981). Testable hypotheses were based on the concept of object-subject interchangeability (Claxton & Murray, 1994) as a mechanism of self-definition. The hypothesis was supported that cool spouses without children would have the highest materialism score. Total sample materialism scores were related to parenthood status and to several interactions among parenthood status, personality type, and sex of respondent. Analyzed by sex of respondent, men's materialism scores were related to parenthood status and to the interaction between parenthood status and personality type. Women's materialism scores were not related to any independent variables or interactions. Consumer policy implications are discussed.

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Zusammenfassung Materialismus von Ehegatten: Effekte von Elternschaft, Persönlichkeitstyp und Geschlecht Die Studie reagiert auf die Forderung nach einer breiteren Konzeptualisierung der Materialismus-Variable und der Rolle von Materialismus bei der Selbst-Definition. Die Daten stammen von 202 Ehegatten und wurden auf die Beziehungen hin analysiert, die zwischen Materialismus, Elternschaft und Persönlichkeitstyp (definiert als eheliche WÄrme und eheliche Nüchternheit) bestehen. Die Hypothesen basieren auf dem Konzept der Objekt-Subjekt-Austauschbarkeit als Mechanismus der Selbst-Definition. BestÄtigt wurde die Hypothese, da\ nüchterne Ehegatten ohne Kinder den höchsten Materialismuswert haben. Insgesamt waren die Materialismuswerte abhÄngig von der Variable Elternschaft und von mehreren Wechselwirkungen zwischen Elternschaft, Persönlichkeitstyp und Geschlecht des Antwortenden. Eine geschlechtsspezifische Analyse zeigt, da\ die Materialismuswerte der MÄnner mit Elternschaft und mit der Wechselwirkung zwischen Elternschaft und Persönlichkeitstyp verbunden sind. Bei den Materialismuswerten der Frauen zeigte sich keine Beziehung zu einer der unabhÄngigen Variablen oder den Wechselwirkungen. Der Beitrag schlie\t mit einigen verbraucherpolitischen Implikationen.

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The study is based on the first author's dissertation. The authors gratefully acknowledge the assistance of a 1993 summer research grant from East Carolina University, and the reviewers' helpful comments.     

Credit Support for Export: Robust Evidence from the Czech Republic

The topic of this paper is quite a novel one – it is one of few empirical academic papers dealing with export credit. Moreover, it is the first analysis of this kind which focuses on transition economies. The paper deals with export credit promotion in the Czech Republic. The development and structure of Czech trade and export support is presented first, followed by an econometric analysis of the gravity model of Czech Republic trade. A panel of 160 countries in 1996–2008 is analysed and two gravity models of exports for the Czech Republic are estimated, the static model by fixed effects (LSDV estimator) and the dynamic model by System GMM. Due to ambiguous conclusions we assume that the behaviour of our explanatory variables is not uniform and our data set behaves as a mixture of countries with heterogeneous behaviour. This means that traditional techniques of estimation which include all observations into one model do not give significant results. Thus, we use robust techniques of estimation that solve the problem of heterogeneous patterns in data sets. Out of several possibilities we use the Least Trimmed Squares estimator (LTS) with a leverage point. We show that guarantees are a significant factor that influences positively the volume of exports in the Czech Republic. Moreover, there exist more variables that affect the size of exports in the Czech Republic. Market forces described by GDP, distance, political risk or gross fix capital formation are significant in our econometric model. We find that higher GDP, shorter distance or lower political risk have a positive impact on Czech exports.     

A longitudinal study of online non-relationship intentions

In their eagerness to develop relationships with customers, some marketers often overlook the fact that not all consumers may be interested in maintaining a relationship with the firm. In this research, the authors develop a theoretical model as to why many customers do not wish to maintain a relationship with e-businesses and test the model over time. The results show that consumer-relationship value perceptions affect non-relationship intentions. Moreover, even though non-relationship intentions in a certain time period do not directly affect non-relationship intentions in the immediate future time period, promotion events may play a mediating role in this relationship.     

Does adding up of economic capital for market- and credit risk amount to conservative risk assessment?

There is a tradition in the banking industry of dividing risk into market risk and credit risk. Both categories are treated independently in the calculation of risk capital. But many financial positions depend simultaneously on both market risk and credit risk factors. In this case, an approximation of the portfolio value function separating value changes into a pure market risk plus pure credit risk component can result not only in an overestimation, but also in an underestimation of risk. We discuss this compounding effect in the context of foreign currency loans and argue that a separate calculation of economic capital for market risk and for credit risk may significantly underestimate true risk.     

Brand personality and its outcomes in the Chinese automobile industry

The purpose of this study is to understand the relationship between ‘brand personality’ and key outcomes in the Chinese automobile industry. A secondary aim of the study is to look at whether or not these relationships hold across purchasers and non-purchasers. The major conclusion is that while brand personality dimensions are somewhat consistent across both purchasers and non-purchasers, the brand personality outcomes differ somewhat between the groups. First, brand personality plays a critical role in improving perceived quality and creating brand trust, a key finding given the intensely competitive nature of the Chinese automobile industry. Second, perceived quality plays an important role in mediating the relationship between brand personality and brand commitment for both groups. Third, perceived quality does not affect brand trust for the purchaser group. In the context of Chinese automobile industry, increasing the level of perceived quality of a particular brand requires convincing non-purchasers that the brand is valuable, and that the information being provided is useful. Fourth, since the relationship between perceived quality and brand trust was found to be non-significant, future research studies may wish to focus on obtaining a better understanding of Chinese cultural perspectives to shed further light on why perceived quality and brand trust are not related for the automobile purchaser group.     

The effect of country-of-origin related stereotypes and personal beliefs on product evaluation

The country-of-origin effect has been the focus of numerous studies in international marketing. The concept of stereotypes assumes importance in the study of country-of-origin effects. However, past research has failed to consider the cognitive structures that influence a person's use of the country-of-origin factor in product evaluation. This article attempts to fill this gap through a conceptualization that suggests that the country of origin may be an outcome of a combination of two processes—cultural stereotypes and personal beliefs. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Food Import Demand in the Czech Republic

This paper provides an overview of Czech food import demand in the transition period of the 1990s. It provides econometric estimates of own‐ and cross‐price elasticities as well as group expenditure elasticities of Czech import demand for sixteen lower level and four upper level food groups. Based on the Hausman test for endogeneity, which supported the hypothesis that Czech import prices were exogenously determined outside of the Czech economy, we estimated five demand models as direct‐demand systems of the AIDS type. The econometric estimation of elasticities used bimonthly data from March 1993 to August 1997.     

Signalling and underutilization of import quota

This study introduces an information asymmetry regarding the foreign exporter's cost in a strategic trade model. We show that it is possible to use import quotas or voluntary export restraints as a signal of the strength of the foreign exporter who enters into a previously protected domestic market. Our model provides a possible explanation for the underutilization of import quotas that is consistent with rational behaviour on the part of importing and exporting countries. Under the assumption that the exporter's marginal cost of securing the import quota is sufficiently low the underutilization of an import quota is an equilibrium result.     

Identification and Aftermarket Personalization with Durable Goods

Blending elements of the heuristic–systematic model and social identity theory, the authors extend theory by exploring the role of intimacy as a key boundary condition for identification (ID). Specifically, this research illustrates how intimacy affects the relationship between brand characteristics (prestige and distinctiveness) and ID. Further, the authors explore the relationship between ID and aftermarket spending on accessories. In a consumer durables setting, the authors conducted a field study with 1,193 consumers and matched customer perceptions with their actual retail spending on aftermarket goods. The results suggest that an individual's intimacy with a brand may affect how prestige and distinctiveness shape their ID. In addition, results show that the relationship between ID and customer aftermarket spending is moderated by a customer's level of satisfaction. Managerial implications of the findings are also outlined.