The Influence of Individual Factors on the Effectiveness of Message Content in Antismoking Advertisements Aimed at Adolescents

Approximately five million children under the age of 18 will eventually die from smoking‐related disease. However, antismoking advertisements directed to adolescents appear to be reducing the prevalence of smoking among youth. The reported study extends prior research using an experiment over time (N= 565) to test the influence of individual factors (grade level, gender, and ethnicity) on the effectiveness of two types of message content in antismoking advertisements. Predictor variables from prior research, such as beliefs about smoking and family and peer smoking, were included as covariates in the analysis. As expected, effectiveness was influenced by individual factors. Long‐term health content was more effective among nonwhites, males, and high school students, while short‐term content appeared to work better among junior high males.     

吸烟史与高龄老人死亡分析初步

利用1998—2000年高龄老人追踪调查的数据,探讨了吸烟——不良生活方式的主要内容之一,对高龄老人生存与死亡过程的影响。虽然吸烟有害于人体健康,但是针对高龄老人(80岁及80岁以上)生存与死亡的多元COX回归分析表明,其吸烟的历史过程(包括起始吸烟年龄、吸烟量和是否戒烟等)对高龄老人存活影响程度的统计意义并不明显。吸烟对高龄老人生存过程的干扰仍然需要进一步研究。     

A new model of how celebrity endorsements work: attitude toward the endorsement as a mediator of celebrity source and endorsement effects

This research introduces attitude towards the endorsement as a mediating variable in the relationships between celebrity source and endorsement factors and brand attitude. It also includes perceived celebrity motive, a variable rarely studied in the previous literature, as an endorsement factor. In a survey study, respondents evaluated four celebrity endorsement campaigns. Mediation analyses show that attitude towards the endorsement mediates the effects of three variables on brand attitude; these variables are celebrity expertise, celebrity–brand fit, and perceived celebrity motive. Moreover, results show that if consumers perceive that the celebrity was motivated to do the endorsement not only by money but also by product quality, this has a significant positive effect on attitude towards the brand.     

Antecedents of supermarket formats’ adoption and usage: A study in the context of non-western customers

This research deals with the process of food retailing modernization—the process through which supermarket formats (supermarkets and hypermarkets) diffuse, replace traditional retail formats and gain market share. The study first divides the process into three components (diffusion, adoption, and usage of supermarket formats), then, through two independent studies, we apply an empirical framework that identifies factors motivating format adoption and usage in the context of non-Western countries. The empirical results, utilizing two surveys involving 961 respondents, indicate strong evidence for most of the hypotheses drawn from the theoretical framework. Specifically, among other findings, the analyses reveal that consumer economic abilities and format outputs comprise key factors affecting format adoption. However, the impacts of these factors vary among the populations in the study. The findings also point to the significant effects of three variable sets on the extent of supermarket use among the adopting consumers regardless of their economic status. These variables include format outputs, religious variables and ethnic-cultural attributes related to food consumption patterns of Muslim-Arab consumers. The article closes with managerial implications and future research.     

Factors that Influence Adolescents to Smoke

Predictor variables previously examined in separate studies (prior beliefs, peer pressure, family smoking, advertising, and antismoking information) were combined in a single study, surveying 246 adolescents. The variables were found to be significant predictors of smoking level, but the importance of each predictor varied by grade level, gender, and ethnicity. Overall, family smoking behavior, peer pressure, and prior beliefs were more important in predicting smoking level than were advertising and antismoking information. Public policy implications are discussed.     

Self-Ratings and Expectations of the U.S. President, Ideal Physicians, and Ideal Automechanic

Relationships between self-ratings and expectations of an ideal U.S. president, were studied in 43 men drawn from a university setting in the eastern coast of the U.S.A. The men first rated themselves on personality variables, life choices (agentic and communal), peacefulness, spirituality, and morality. Then they were presented with a vignette requesting that they describe an ideal U.S. president on inventories measuring personality variables, life choices, peacefulness, spirituality, and morality. For the rating of the ideal U.S. president, they also were asked to respond to a 20 item questionnaire that was a composite of several factors on organization and leadership, morality, spirituality, and peacefulness. The respondents belonged to one of seven different political persuasions, similar in some ways to different cultures. Self-ratings of the men and expectations of the president were highly correlated for extraversion, openness, trait morality, agentic and communal life choices. However, no significant correlations were found between the self-ratings and expectations of the president for neuroticism, agreeableness, conscientiousness, peacefulness, nor state morality. The men were also presented with vignettes for the ideal physician and ideal automechanic and asked to rate each of them on the inventory items. Overall, the U.S. President was rated as more neurotic and immoral in terms of ingrained ideas of right and wrong, but also as more caring for others, transcendent, seeking goodness and truth, forgiving, cooperative, and most concerned with matters of justice and mercy, and more concerned with both agentic (power-seeking) and communal (community-minded) life choices than were either the ideal physician or ideal automechanic. The ideal physician was rated as highest in extra-version, openness, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and overall peacefulness, and lowest in neuroticism. The ideal automechanic was rated as highest in state or situational immorality, and lowest in both agentic (power-seeking, business-mindedness) and communal (community-mindedness) life choices, and also lowest in caring for others well-being, transcendence, seeking goodness and truth, forgiveness and cooperation, being concerned with justice and mercy, overall expectations, overall spirituality, and overall organization and leadership. In general, the self-ratings were significantly related to ratings/expectations, of the U.S. President, ideal physician, and ideal automechanic. The men seemed to identify more with the automechanic than with the present or physician.     

全球外商直接投资周期波动因素的实证分析

文章结合外商直接投资的有关理论,选择全球GDP,世界经济自由度指数以及全球跨国公司经营业绩三个变量作为全球外商直接投资波动的解释变量,建立跨度为23年的全球外商直接投资非常定模型。模型表明这三个因素对全球外商直接投资的影响每年都在发生变化,且遵循一定规律,模型在总体上也很好地解释全球FDI的周期波动。     

Consumer Attitudes and Food Faddism: The Case of Vitamin E

Attitudes toward vitamin E were studied in an effort to gain insight into the variables associated with consumption of fad food products. Vitamin E was chosen as a typical fad food product because nutrition researchers and government agencies have generally agreed that supplementation is unnecessary in the normal human diet. A survey of 252 students revealed a 15% incidence of vitamin E use. The backgrounds, attitudes and self-report personality inventories of the students did not support the view that use of such health products as vitamin E is necessarily associated with low socioeconomic status, lack of education, ageing, desperation associated with illness or bizarre personality traits. Vitamin E usage may be associated with such personality variables as personal disorganization or extroversion. Students are distrustful of the scientific community and Federal agencies as sources of product information. The need for consumer protection from misinformation provided by popular nutrition sources is discussed.     

The Impact of Smokers' Group‐Membership and Activist Gender on Tolerance for Smoking,Receptiveness and Perceived Susceptibility to Anti‐Smoking Messages,and Likelihood of Anti‐Smoking Activism

Using two experiments we demonstrate that people have lower tolerance for smoking and higher anti‐smoking activism likelihood when in‐group versus out‐group members smoke. The likelihood of anti‐smoking activism toward in‐group smokers was greater for men than women. Moreover, as social distance declined, men showed greater anti‐smoking message receptiveness, message susceptibility and activism likelihood, whereas, women displayed no significant differences in tolerance for smoking, message receptiveness, message susceptibility, and activism likelihood. Open‐ended responses indicated generally negative cognitive reactions to smokers, yet a broad unwillingness to confront them. While feelings of personal relevance and caring facilitated anti‐smoking activism intentions, beliefs in the freedom of personal choice and polite interpersonal interactions hindered these intentions.     

Determinants of mail‐survey response: Survey design factors and respondent factors

With the use of a hierarchy‐of‐effects model, the decision to complete a mail survey was modeled as a process moving through several stages. A set of variables thought to influence the survey‐completion decision process was examined. These variables include survey design factors, which were manipulated by the researchers, and respondent factors, such as attitudinal and personal constructs. Based on the research findings, the hierarchy‐of‐effects model is an appropriate way to model the mail‐survey‐response process. The data indicate that among the survey design factors included in the study, the monetary incentive had the most effect on the decision process, with a pervasive impact throughout the process. Importantly, respondent factors such as attitude toward research were of critical importance in moving respondents through the survey‐response process. Research into the response‐rate phenomenon is likely to benefit by considering how both survey design and respondent factors affect specific stages of the response process and enhance participation in surveys. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The role of numeracy and information load in the tourist decision-making process

The aim of the present study is to merge two strands of research that have evolved in tandem (a) the consequences of numeracy; and (b) the effect of information load on the consumer decision-making process. The study analyses the interaction effect between these two factors on decision accuracy and on a set of cognitive and affective variables of the decision-making process (namely, confusion, calibration, and emotion). We measured participants' numeracy and used an experimental design to manipulate the information load. The results showed that the effect of numeracy on decision accuracy was entirely mediated by cognitive and affective processes involved in decision-making. In particular, numeracy was found to have a negative relationship with the level of confusion, calibration, and emotions experienced during the decision-making process. The results also showed that information load interacted with numeracy, such that individuals with high numeracy maintained lower levels of emotion when placed under conditions of low information load. However, under these same conditions, individuals with low numeracy maintained positive emotions. The findings help to identify approaches that can contribute to reducing the negative effects of low numeracy among consumers, in a context where the online channel predominates (the tourism sector).     

An Investigation of Factors Influencing Causal Attributions in Managerial Decision Making

This study investigates factors influencing causal attributions in managerial decision making. Three categories of factors are identified: (i) prior beliefs (ii) background frequencies, and (iii) covariation cues. The impact of factors in each of the above categories on causal attribution are studied in a marketing decision making context. Subjects demonstrated a bias toward assigning causality to variables that occurred infrequently or were controllable. Also, subjects were particularly influenced by the joint-occurrences of cause and effect variables.     

Direct and Multiplicative Effects of Ethical Dispositions and Ethical Climates on Personal Justice Norms: A Virtue Ethics Perspective

From virtue ethics and interactionist perspectives, we hypothesized that personal justice norms (distributive and procedural justice norms) were shaped directly and multiplicatively by ethical dispositions (equity sensitivity and need for structure) and ethical climates (egoistic, benevolent, and principle climates). We collected multisource data from 123 companies in Hong Kong, with personal factors assessed by participants’ self-reports and contextual factors by aggregations of their peers. In general, LISREL analyses with latent product variables supported the direct and multiplicative relationships. Our findings could lay the groundwork for justice research from a morality perspective in future.     

The effect of age on shopping orientation—choice orientation types of the ageing shoppers

Traditionally, ageing consumers have been considered and treated as a rather homogeneous group. The appropriateness of this way of conduct is increasingly challenged when the baby-boom generation is reaching the retirement age. In the near future, 55+ consumers will be the dominant consumer segment in Western societies. Therefore, retailers should be more aware of the heterogeneous needs and wants of the “new old”. In the current study, six segments of ageing (55–75 years old) consumers were formed based on choice orientation in the specialty retailing context. The findings were compared to those obtained using the sample of younger (18–54 years old) consumers. The study was based on the household survey collected in Helsinki metropolitan area in 2009. The results indicate that the ageing market is formed of different consumer types which are rather similar to those found among younger age cohorts.     

The techno-economic ecology of the product elimination process

One of the greatest voids in the literature on product elimination to date is knowledge about the factors affecting the content, formality and other important aspects of the product elimination process.In this exploratory paper, an attempt is made to assess the impact of techno-economic environment and in particular the impact of technological change and three different forms of competition, on the content of the product elimination process.The impact is assessed by means of a cross-sectional analysis of questionnaire data from 94 industrial goods companies drawn from a large number of British engineering companies.Our data suggest that the content of the product elimination process of companies in dynamic, uncertain environments is likely to be significantly different from that of companies in relatively stable environments. Our data also suggest that there are striking differences between the techno-economic variables as to their relationships with the importance of the decision-variables describing the content of the product elimination process. The observed relationships, which reveal that the techno-economic environment leads to two different types or scenarios of product elimination process, are explained in terms of the contingencies created by the techno-economic variables.     

Supporting the Career Development of Older Employees: an HRD Study in a Dutch Company

Many organisations are confronted with an ageing workforce. Older employees are often seen as less flexible and open to HRD activities than their younger colleagues, yet rapid developments taking place within society and organisations require a flexible and responsive workforce. The necessary knowledge and skills demanded here can be taught through HRD activities. In 1995 a quantitative exploratory survey into the conditions considered important for the career development or mobility of older workers was carried out within a Dutch multinational chemical company. From a training and development viewpoint, these conditions are defined as demands made on corporate HRD policy, HRD activities and employees’ willingness to learn, as well as stimulating factors that promote the career development of older workers. Results show that while the company operated an age-awareness personnel policy, this still focused on younger employees so that participants in the career development process were insufficiently stimulated in their roles and traditional formal HRD activities had little effect on older workers’ careers. This article describes the survey, highlighting its major results, and offers recommendations.     

Key drivers of services website loyalty

The ease of website comparison and strong price competition encourage users to constantly switch tourism service providers. The present work analyses how satisfaction, trust, and commitment can help to strengthen loyalty towards websites selling accommodation services. Moreover, special attention is paid here to evaluate the moderating effects of gender on the relationships between these variables. Structural equation models were used to test the hypotheses on a sample of 230 Mexican Internet users, online purchasers of tourist accommodation services. The results show significant differences between men and women's post-purchase behaviour with a higher influence in women of trust on commitment and of commitment on loyalty towards accommodation services websites. Managerial implications for accommodation websites are provided.     

Analysis of the moderating role of the gender variable in service recovery processes

In this study, the authors focus on service recovery processes and identify a set of key factors that drive satisfaction with the recovery process, which ultimately leads to customer loyalty. In addition, the authors investigate the role of gender as a potential moderating variable in the recovery process. Using a sample of 202 customers who had experienced a problem with their provider, filed a complaint and received a response from the company, the authors empirically test the proposed framework in the mobile phone market. The findings reveal that men tend to be more demanding when dealing with service providers and less loyal, while women tend to exhibit a more fully-developed sense of justice and greater attitudinal and behavioral loyalty. These results provide valuable insights for the consumer services industry: Companies can use gender information to manage complaints in order to restore customer satisfaction and increase customer loyalty more efficiently.     

A Meta-Analysis of Variance Accounted for and Factor Loadings in Exploratory Factor Analysis

A meta-analysis of two factor analysis outcome measures, the percentage of variance accounted for and the average (absolute) factor loading, in 803 substantive factor analyses was undertaken. The average percentage of variance accounted for was 56.6%, and the average (absolute) factor loading was 0.32. Number of variables factor analyzed, nature of the sample from which data were collected, sample size, number of factors extracted, and (minimal) number of scale categories employed influenced the percentage of variance accounted for in a factor analysis. Number of factors extracted, analytical approach, and number of variables analyzed influenced the average factor loading obtained in a factor analysis. Factor analysis of synthetic (random) data possessing the general structure as the observed data in the meta-analysis accounted for 50.2% of the variance in the data and produced an average factor loading of 0.21. The latter figures imply that many factor analyses have produced outcome measures of questionable meaningfulness.