Toward sustainable consumption: Researching voluntary simplifiers

This article examines and extends the notion of voluntary simplifiers (VS). VS are individuals who have freely chosen a frugal, anticonsumer lifestyle that features low resource use and environmental impact. The article will begin by reviewing empirical work with VS and their mainstream counterparts, non‐voluntary simplifiers (NVS). It will go on to identify and locate within this literature an intermediate group: beginner voluntary simplifiers (BVS). BVS may support some aspects of sustainability (such as buying fair‐trade coffee or recycling domestic waste) without either embracing a complete lifestyle change like VS, or completely dismissing ethical or environ‐mental features of products and services they consume, like NVS. Insight into the complex decision‐making processes of BVS is crucial for the understanding of the concept of voluntary simplification and is therefore important for the advancement of sustainable consumption. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The role of sustainability in profiling voluntary simplifiers

Studies focusing on voluntary simplifiers are gaining in popularity, but doubt remains about the relevance to business of this segment and to what extent this lifestyle is attributable to sustainability-rooted choices. Instead of the commonly used self-reported scales, a novel measurement approach is applied using objective data to identify voluntary simplifiers. Based on equivalent household incomes and level of product possession this research provides, using a large-scale, representative sample, empirical evidence that voluntary simplifiers comprise almost one-sixth of the German population. Results indicate that voluntary simplifiers buy more green products, exhibit a greater environmental and economic sustainability consciousness and share more universalistic values compared to four other uncovered segments, namely well-off consumers, over-consumption consumers, less well-off consumers and poor consumers. From a business perspective, moderate voluntary simplifiers do not exit the market. Instead, they constitute an attractive target group for ecological products and alternative consumption options such as sharing.     

Employee age and voluntary development activity

It is known that older workers undertake less formal training than younger ones, but little information is available about age-patterns in voluntary development activities undertaken in an employee’s own time. In a study of 1798 manufacturing workers, age and ten other factors were examined in relation to four types of activity: participation in a tuition refund scheme, learning in an employee development programme, attendance at an employee development centre, and use of a personal development record. Significant age- differences were found, and key influential factors were identified as older workers’ lower educational qualifications (representing both cognitive and affective differences) and their more limited learning motivation (linked to lower learning confidence and greater perceived time constraints). However, older individuals who had previously undertaken each form of development were as positive about that previous activity as were younger participants. Possible interventions to increase voluntary development at older ages include rewards for participation, enhancement of basic skills, pretraining in appropriate learning strategies, sequential exposure to graded learning demands, and steps to change organisational stereotypes of older staff.     

Predictors of voluntary simplicity in consumer behaviour

The contribution of income adequacy, conservation-related attitudes and human resources to voluntary simplicity behaviour was studied using responses from 638 households. Findings suggested that, while both income and attitudes were significant contributors to the variance in behaviour, attitudes were somewhat more so. However, the perception that the respondent or another family member had needed skills to perform various repair and maintenance tasks was the strongest predictor of voluntary simplicity behaviour.     

对出口与进口的再认识--对外贸易对经济增长的作用分析

根据我国对外开放的时间和数据的可得性，选取1980-2002年我国国内生产总值、对外贸易的有关数据作为下面分析的统训资料。因为从1980年开始，我国的对外贸易才全面发展起来、对我国经济增长的作用真正体现出来。本文利用Eviews统计软件，采用回归分析方法，尝试从绝对数量与相对数量两个角度来分析对外。     

Understanding innovation

While innovation has become a pervasive term, many of today’s organizations still find innovation elusive. One reason may be that much of what is being said about innovation contributes to misunderstanding. To truly manifest innovation and reap its benefits, one must recognize that innovation is three different things: innovation is an outcome, innovation is a process, and innovation is a mindset. Innovation as an outcome emphasizes what output is sought, including product innovation, process innovation, marketing innovation, business model innovation, supply chain innovation, and organizational innovation. Innovation as a process attends to the way in which innovation should be organized so that outcomes can come to fruition; this includes an overall innovation process and a new product development process. Innovation as a mindset addresses the internalization of innovation by individual members of the organization where innovation is instilled and ingrained along with the creation of a supportive organizational culture that allows innovation to flourish. Such an understanding defines necessary elements, considerations, and vernacular surrounding the term so that better decisions can be made, thereby enabling innovation and having a greater propensity to succeed.     

图片投射:帮助挖掘消费者想法

<正>一、图片投射的概念和意义1.什么是图片投射?图片投射是一种定性分析技术,源于心理测量中用于人格评估的投射技术(Projection Technology)。     

Understanding Participation

The word 'participation' is taken to refer to a situation in which employees have some sort of share in the businesses which employ them. On this basis a classificatory scheme is produced which distinguishes between different forms of participation as well as the sources and motives behind those different forms. Participation as a whole is then distinguished from bargaining between management and labour. In bargaining, separate and opposing interests are accepted. In participation, there is an attempt to produce an over-arching common interest. More importantly, bargaining operates outside those organizational arrangements definitive of a business which grant a strictly subordinate role to labour with respect to management structures and property entitlements. In contrast, participation is a modification of those arrangements up to, but not beyond, a position of equality for labour. It is this which gives participation its essentially reformist character and exposes it to attack from both those seeking a more than participatory share to labour and those for whom even a participating share is excessive.     

解密海尔模式

打开海尔网站,我们可以看到这样的描绘: 20年,240个月,平均每月建一个足球场大小的现代化厂房; 20年,7305天,平均每天为用户开发两个新产品; 20年,6.3亿秒,平均每两秒增加一个新用户; 20年,1000亿,我们又站到了新的起点上.     

Overseas listing, voluntary corporate governance and performance

This paper analyzes the evolution of Sinopec’s corporate governance system and performance in the domestic capital market after its overseas listing. Results show that Sinopec’s governance system successfully evolves from a mandatory type to a voluntary type as a result of conformation to legal regulatory systems in the overseas market as exogenous forces and company voluntary decision-makings as endogenous forces. Sinopec takes the initiative to carry out corporate governance innovation, which has significantly improved its performance in the domestic capital market.     

理解郝堂模式

金融金融机构不愿借贷农民，事出有因。一则，土地为集体所有，房屋无法估价，农民的主要产权不可直接作为银行抵押凭证，二则，信用社合作性质在变化，农业银行等更愿意借贷给企业等大客户。这些金融部门没有动力，也难以掌握零散而多样的农村借贷需求。在以金融创新的形式破解农村养老难题方面，郝堂村“夕阳红养老资金互助社”不失为一种有益的尝试。     

Understanding dog-human companionship

This article reports a survey of 749 dog owners. The survey focuses on owners' interactions with their dogs. This research identifies seven underlying dimensions that comprise the construct of dog companionship. The dimensions include symbiotic relationship, dog-oriented self concept, anthropomorphism, activity/youth, boundaries, specialty purchases, and willingness to adapt. Results suggest that certain demographic variables - in particular gender, age, and education level, as well as length of dog ownership, amount of quality time spent with the dog, and whether the dog is purebred or mixed breed - relate to these dimensions.     

Understanding Luxury Disposition

This article aims to provide a conceptual foundation for luxury disposition behavior in relation to luxury customer value and switching costs. The results of a study involving 398 luxury consumers in South Korea demonstrate the distinct typologies of luxury customer values and switching costs in cognitive (financial) and emotional (relational) dimensions as well as luxury disposition behavior as four different types. In addition, the conceptual framework on luxury disposition behavior reveals how luxury customers recognize customer value of luxury goods in perceiving switching costs upon disposition, which leads to different choices in disposition behavior. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed for marketers or retailers in luxury fashion industry.     

理解差异

若要在国际市场上有效地开展业务,你越发有必要知道文化的差异,并相应调整你的行为和交流沟通方式.不同文化背景的人们,在处理信息、评价不同的品质、考虑时间与空间、以及其它的有关生意和人与人相互之间的事物时,这些差异就会反映在他们处理这些问题的方式上.     

Determinants of voluntary environmental management practices by MNE subsidiaries

There have been few empirical studies of the determinants of voluntary environmental management practices (VEMPs) of MNE subsidiaries operating in emerging countries. To provide insight on this issue, this study explores the antecedent factors that drive MNE subsidiaries to adopt VEMPs, using data drawn from a key emerging country – Turkey. Based largely on the arguments of institutional theory and the resource based view of the firm, a number of hypotheses are formulated in order to investigate the effects of stakeholder pressures, perceived polluting potential, customer focus and competitive intensity. Each of these factors, with the exception of competitive intensity, is found to positively influence the adoption level of VEMPs by MNE subsidiaries. Some of the study's parent-level and subsidiary-level control variables are also found to have significant effects on the extent of VEMPs adoption by MNE subsidiaries.     

Sanctions under GATT article XIX versus voluntary export restraints

Voluntary export restraints play a substantial part in international trade today. This article compares the effects such restraints have upon certain exporting countries with the effect of sanctions applied under Article XIX of the GATT. It is shown that the microeconomic protectionism analysis used as a basis for the current debate on the reform of the GATT is unable to provide a conclusive answer as to which variant of protectionism would be preferable from the exporting economies' point of view. The article also indicates the direction in which existing research shortcomings can be reduced.     

Retailer voluntary investment against a threat of manufacturer encroachment

To elucidate supply chain cooperation between a manufacturer and a retailer, this study examines a model in which the retailer makes voluntary investments to reduce the marginal production cost of the manufacturer. The manufacturer is allowed to introduce a direct selling channel in addition to the indirect channel through the retailer (i.e., manufacturer encroachment), which however dampens the retailers’ investment incentives. The retailer can leverage its voluntary investments as a means of deterring manufacturer encroachment. We demonstrate that manufacturer encroachment is strategically deterred when the retailer’s cost-reduction technology is sufficiently effective. This strategic encroachment deterrence encourages the retailer to invest more, but it narrows the variety of channels from which consumers can select. When the latter effect dominates the former effect, consumer surplus declines with strategic encroachment deterrence.