Impact on Firm Liquidity Arising from Outsourcing Decisions as Evidenced by Off-Balance-Sheet Disclosures

International Advances in Economic Research - Based on transaction-cost and resource-based theories (and other approaches), there is an extensive literature on the range of factors that are viewed...     

Profiling consumers of own brands and national brands using human personality

Traditional methods of market segmentation based on demographic variables have shown mixed results in differentiating between those who are more likely to buy own brand products and those who prefer national brands. Taking advantage of the emerging convergence in human personality research on the Big Five dimensions, we focus on the potential of human personality as a method of identifying different customer segments. Two types of own brands are considered, those labelled with the retailer's corporate name and those labelled with a name independent of the retailer. Two product categories are included, cola as an example of a low-involvement product and cosmetics as an example of a high-involvement product. The personality profiles of buyers of these and the leading national brands in each category are compared. Stepwise regression is used to identify those aspects of shopper personality that predict purchase rates of all products. Individuals who are more ‘open to experience’ report higher purchases of corporately named products, while individuals who are more ‘extrovert’ report higher purchases of national brands. Those reporting higher rates of purchase for own brands with independent names tend to be more ‘agreeable’ and ‘extrovert’. The positioning of the three types of brands against the 5 dimensions of human personality is illustrated using correspondence analysis. The clear potential to use human personality to segment and profile markets for own brands and national brands is discussed.     

Consumer Regulation Strategies: Attenuating the Effect of Consumer References in a Voting Context

Consumption cues (e.g., brands, money, and advertisements) can have powerful effects on cognition, perception, and behavior, yet how people regulate responses to such cues is not well understood. This is surprising given that consumption cues are increasingly present in nontraditional consumer contexts, such as healthcare, education, and politics. This research develops a measure of two types of consumer regulation strategies, cue‐based and budget‐based (studies 1–4), and demonstrates that these strategies influence how people respond to consumption cues in a political context (study 5). Specifically, in a study involving the 2012 American Presidential Election, priming survey participants as consumers (versus citizens) influenced both voting intentions and self‐reported voting behavior, and the newly developed consumer regulation scale was instrumental in detecting this effect. These findings suggest there may be merit in the escalating debate and concern over referring to voters as consumers.     

The take-up of means-tested income support

Many studies have identified that eligible claimants do not participate in means-tested income support programs. We examine the determinants of the decision to take-up social assistance in Canada using the 1997 Canadian Out of Employment Panel dataset. Using a conditional maximum likelihood approach to take account of the potential endogeneity of the level of benefits available to potential claimants, we find that benefit levels and recent receipt of Social Assistance (SA) are important determinants of the take-up decision. The results are important for the fiscal implications of changing benefit levels as the take-up rate is systematically related to the benefits potential recipients are entitled to receive. Further, it suggests that stigma and transaction costs associated with program use are important in explaining the take-up decision.     

How Internet technologies impact information flows in R&D: reconsidering the technological gatekeeper

Previous studies have firmly established the technological gatekeeper to be a key node in the innovation process – acquiring, translating, and disseminating external information throughout the R&D unit. However, the gatekeeper concept has received modest attention in recent times. We argue that the concept needs to be re‐examined in light of the recent advances in Internet technologies that have dramatically altered how knowledge workers source and share their information. Drawing on social network analysis and interview evidence from a medical devices R&D group, we find that the gatekeeper role is still vital, but no longer needs to be performed by a single individual. Instead, the modern R&D group can keep abreast of the latest technological advances through a combination of Internet‐enabled internal and external communication specialists. This study makes a number of important contributions. The gatekeeper theory is extended through the development of an updated conceptual framework. We also discuss the practical implications of our findings and advise R&D managers on how to organise resources to maximise optimal information flows.     

Persistent and Consistent Poverty in the 1994 and 1995 Waves of the European Community Household Panel Survey

This paper focuses on the mismatch between income and deprivation measures of poverty. Using the first two waves of the European Community Household Panel Survey, a measure of relative deprivation is constructed and the overlap between the relative income poor and relatively deprived is examined. There is very limited overlap with the lowest relative income threshold. The overlap increases as the income threshold is raised, but it remains true that less than half those below the 60 percent relative income line are among the most deprived. Relative deprivation is shown to be related to the persistence of income poverty, but also to a range of other resource and need factors. Income and deprivation measures each contain information that can profitably be employed to enhance our understanding of poverty and a range of other social phenomena. This is illustrated by the manner in which both income poverty and relative deprivation are associated with self-reported difficulty making ends meet.     

Drivers’ acceptance of automatic speed limiters: implications for policy and implementation

It has been suggested that speed limiters will have the most impact on vehicle speeds and hence road safety in general. Whilst it is technically feasible to develop a functional speed control system, it may be more difficult to design a system that drivers actually wish to use. It is essential that drivers’ acceptability towards speed limiters is gauged in order to establish the most effective way to implement the system. The research reported here used a variety of techniques to evaluate acceptability and concluded that although drivers perceive speed limiters to be effective in reducing accidents, there is a need to change perceptions about possible impacts on comfort and safety.     

Shakespeare plc

Does the Royal Shakespeare Company require subsidies from the taxpayer? Robert Whelan, a former actor with the RSC, argues that the RSC could survive without subsidy by putting on popular plays and not indulging the vanity of directors.     

Management of scientific institutions NPL 1995–98: the transition from agency to government-owned contractor operated (GOCO)

The last 10 years have seen a number of changes taking place in the management of publicly funded research institutions. Some have been transferred wholesale to the private sector, some closed and most encouraged to diversify their sources of funding. One management approach is that of the Government Owned Contractor Operated (GOCO). In this approach, the assets of the institute remain in state ownership but the responsibility of managing the institute and its research programmes is passed to a private sector management company. The UK’s National Physical Laboratory (NPL) has been managed under such an arrangement since 1995. NPL is responsible for the physical measurement standards which underpin much of the UK industrial base. This study, undertaken three years after the change in status, was concerned to identify what changes had taken place and what general management lessons could be learnt which might be applied elsewhere. The study wanted to discover if there had been any change in the ‘values’ of NPL, such as quality, integrity etc., as seen by industry, partner research groups and the research staff at NPL itself. The interviews of staff took place at the end of 1998. The study found that the contract has led to significant savings in the cost of research programmes through the adoption of greatly improved programme formulation processes and better resource management. Better commercial practice in marketing, finance, procurement and general business administration has permitted significant one‐off and on going savings in the costs of operating the facility. Less restrictive recruitment has led to an influx of new, younger, scientific staff bringing in new ideas and values. At the same time GOCO has not adversely affected the quality of scientific work, diminished the high international standing of NPL or led to significant staff demotivation. But neither has the change made much progress in changing deep rooted cultural factors nor resolving certain internal communication challenges. Improved responsiveness to customers is still an issue. GOCO has undoubtedly started to release the remarkable potential of NPL and has brought into much sharper focus some new challenges. Continuous rapid change is taking place in many of the eventual users of NPL work. Companies are looking for new ways of meeting their needs. This will create science and business opportunities.