The determinants of occupational mobility patterns among blue-collar jobs

Barriers to mobility are commonly believed to partition blue-collar jobs into skilled, semiskilled, and unskilled components. This paper develops a model based in large measure on the classical gravity model for purposes of ascertaining mobility pattern determinants and for testing for the presence and form of mobility barriers. The model is implemented on a 1965–1970 sample data of male mobility among 60 intermediate-detailed blue- collar occupations. The empirical results reveal that mobility patterns in the blue-collar component conform well with neoclassical theoretical expectations. Very little support is found for the view that the blue-collar labor market is highly structured or segmented in its operations through the mobility process.     

Comparative evaluation of empirical response functions in sales management decision making

Although the potential value of an empirical response function as a sales management decision-making tool is evident, the question of whether functions with different properties will provide comparable decision guidelines has not been investigated. One important property of these functions is their ability to explain variation in sales response relationships. The present study develops and comparatively evaluates two response functions that differ in explanatory power as expressed by their R² values. Each function is used to make sales forecasts and determine optimal call levels to the same set of randomly selected retail accounts, and the two functions provide different decision guidelines. This article discusses the implications of these results and future research directions.     

Uncertainty and communication strategy formation

Managers may affect the consumer information search and acquisition process and, thus, consumer preference by designing communications and selecting information channels that are responsive to consumers' uncertainty-associated information needs. However, measures of uncertainty that would be appropriate for general use in measuring product-attribute associated uncertainty have not been developed and assessed. In this paper, two methodologies that may be appropriate are presented and evaluated. Comparison of the methods shows both approaches to be about equal when evaluated with respect to convergent and face validity, test-retest reliability, and the ability of each measure to predict preference. Possible uses of product-attribute uncertainty measures in assisting managers to formulate communications strategy are discussed.     

Consumer behavior in accumulating household financial assets

The acquisition of household financial assets by married couples are examined. Guttman scalogram analysis is used to develop and evaluate the reproducibility of the derived accumulation scales. To test the reliability of the findings, split halves and longitudinal analyses are conducted. In addition, financial asset patterns are examined across three age segments. Finally, some implications for future consumer research on financial assets are suggested.     

The economic relationship between service quality and market protection for regulated household-goods moving

In considering the effects of motor carrier regulation, the direct measurement of service quality is an often neglected issue. This paper is an empirical investigation of the relationship of entry controls to service quality for household goods (HHG) moving services. The major research questions, which are based on inferences in the economic literature, have considerable importance for HHG regulation. The major finding is that carriers who receive the greatest market protection from the ICC provide inferior service quality and do not compete away excess returns by raising the level of service quality. Based on the study results, a number of theoretical and policy implications are discussed.     

Similarities between conflict and cooperation in the marketing channel

This article examines the relationship between two causes of conflict: domain dissensus and perceptual incongruity, and the levels of conflict and cooperation within a marketing channel dyad. Utilizing a national sample of food broker-food wholesaler dyads, four hypotheses were tested—two relating domain dissensus and two relating perceptual incongruity to conflict/cooperation. Results indicated no significant relationship between either perceptual incongruities or domain dissensus and the level of conflict found in the dyad, while a significant negative relationship was found between both perceptual incongruities and domain dissensus and the level of cooperation in the dyad.     

SBA default rates : Selection bias and credit deterioration

This study estimates the effects of changes in the money and capital markets on small business loan failure rates. It develops a lagged model of the relationship between term structure and risk premium variables and the loan failure rates of the Small Business Administration (SBA). Bank credit availability to small firms is shown to be the key factor in relating changes in economic conditions to changes in the SBA loan failure rates. As bank credit availability changes over an economic cycle, there is a movement of the least risky small firms into and out of the population from which the SBA grants and guarantees loans.     

Heterogeneity in performance within the bank holding company sector: Evidence and implications

The performance of banks affiliated with the holding company sector has been heavily investigated. Empirical studies have sought to determine if the alleged efficiency of holding companies does in fact exist; and if such efficiency outweighs the anticompetitive effects introduced into the banking structure. Research methodologies, nevertheless, have tended to view the holding company sector as homogeneous in its performance characteristics as compared to independent banking. In this study, however, it is found that there is considerable heterogeneity in performance within the holding company sector. The findings have implications for the direction of future research as well as the formation of public policy in banking.     

Demographics,job satisfaction,and propensity to leave of industrial salesmen

An extremely important and expensive promotional tool used by industrial marketers is personal selling. One of the major costs of personal selling is the cost associated with sales personnel turnover. Past studies in the sales management area have focused on the effect of organizational and psychological factors on the satisfaction of salespeople and their propensity to leave their organizations. However, no study has examined the interrelationships among salespeople's demographic variables, job satisfaction, and propensity to leave, even though such relationships have been studied for nonselling occupations. An empirical study done to at least partly fill this research void is described. The results provide new insights for researchers and practitioners with an interest in the sales management area.     

DESIGNOR: A decision support procedure for industrial product design

This paper presents a model-based methodology called DESIGNOR to support design decisions for new industrial products. Models and measurements are developed to assess the relationship between product features and market potential. The methodology incorporates a measurement survey for model calibration and leads to empirical tradeoff curves between design dimensions. The approach handles discrete as well as continuous features and can be incorporated into a procedure aimed at finding a profit maximizing design. It can be used to support decisions concerning product design as well as for product line expansion. The approach provides a consistent way of evaluating market potential for new industrial products and presents important advantages over other product design methodologies.     

Consumer responsiveness to price differentials: A case for insurance industry deregulation

Proponents of deregulation have suggested that several industries should lose their antitrust exemptions and operate within a competitive atmosphere. An important assumption underlying deregulation arguments is that consumers will respond to price differentials in a manner that encourages price competition among supplier firms. This assumption is of special concern in the regulated fields of property and liability insurance. The intangibility of these products, the relatively long-term purchase commitments, and the intimate relationships between insurance and consumers' perceptions of risk raise substantial questions concerning individuals' reactions to price competition. In this study the amount of annual premium savings required to switch companies and the relationships between consumer characteristics and intended switching behavior were examined. The results suggest that a substantial segment of insurance buyers would change firms given modest price reductions. The size of this segment, along with the attitudinal and demographic characteristics of this group, indicates that price competition is a viable strategy in a deregulated insurance industry.     

Formulating a strategic portfolio of profitable retail market segments for commercial banks

A profit contribution study of commercial bank retail customers reveals systematic relationships with family life cycle, social stratification, and relative income class. The analysis leads to the conclusion that a bank's continued retail growth and profitability depend in a crucial way on its ability to attain a balanced portfolio of three key high profit market segments. To attain this mix, banks must intensify product development efforts oriented to the asset management needs of upscale customers during the later stages of the family life cycle. It is interesting to note that these three market segments are expected to attain the highest population growth rates in the decades ahead as the age distribution of the population changes.     

Perceived industrial innovation advantage and export commitment

There are increasingly sales opportunities for capital equipment in developing countries. Concomitantly, concern is that capital intensive technologies are too widely employed. Yet there has been little reported empirical research on why LDC manufacturers choose specific equipment. Textile manufacturers accounting for a significant part of Peru's spinning and weaving capacities participated in this study by providing perceptions of two capital versus labor intensive technologies capable of producing identical output. Exporters and nonexporters scores, using a five-point scale, were compared by t tests on 19 equipment attributes selected from innovation diffusion studies. Factor analysis determined innovations underlying dimensions. Factor scores were regressed on export commitment proxies. Higher export dependence related to more concern with ease of altering output specifications and less concern with cost, thus supporting that dependence on foreign versus domestic markets will affect equipment decisions. The method of comparing product attribute perceptions provides a simple possibility for segmenting LDC capital equipment markets.     

Creating low consumer product expectations

The introduction of generic grocery products brought warnings from trade observers that retailers might suffer negative consequences from consumer dissatisfaction with these products. This study investigated consumer expectations and the degree of satisfaction provided consumers by one category of generic products. The study also examined some relationships between the creation of these satisfaction levels and appropriate retail strategies.The study consisted of 320 homemakers evaluating the effect on posttrial satisfaction of positive and negative disconfirmation of expectations concerning generic peaches. The findings suggest that positive disconfirmation increased satisfaction ratings, whereas negative disconfirmation decreased satisfaction ratings. The relationship between merchandising techniques utilized on generic products and consumers' formation of expectations as observed in the study indicates that, in terms of creating satisfaction, promotion of generic products with essentially negative cues has been appropriate.     

Speeding solar energy commercialization: A Delphi research of marketplace factors

A two-stage Delphi research study was undertaken to determine and measure the attitudes of the public regarding factors that may either inhibit or stimulate solar energy commercialization today and over the next 10 years. Some factors judged important were product cost, lack of product knowledge, lack of governmental support, and public concern over the energy crisis. The factors were determined by a group of energy conscious respondents who completed the Delphi research. They also indicated the likely and desirable actions to be taken by government and business. These included more funding of research and development, tax incentives, increased public education, and reduced prices. The Delphi research proved to be an effective method for investigating solar energy commercialization, as the attitudes expressed in the second survey converged with those identified during the first stage. Furthermore, governmental and business actions suggested in the study could help to initiate greater solar energy use and developmental efforts.     

Mutual forbearance as an extension of oligopoly theory

This paper extends a simple duopoly model to include the cross-market effects of mutual forbearance behavior. The model yields more familiar duopoly results as special cases. A more general m-firm, n-market oligopoly model is also considered. The results suggest that cross-market mutual forbearance effects can be viewed from the same theoretical perspective as are conventional assumptions about conjectural variations within markets.     

Prices of deep discount bonds and the Revenue Act of 1978: An evaluation of market response

This article explores the market response of deep discount corporate bonds to the reduction in the capital gains tax rate incorporated into the Revenue Act of 1978. Such tax change should have increased the desirability of assets acquired for capital gains potential, such as deep discount bonds. Examining a time series of prices and returns for a sample of deep discount corporate bonds and a control group of comparable duration and credit risk corporate bonds selling at or near par did indeed provide evidence of a market price reaction. Moreover, the price changes for the deep discount bonds occurred well in advance of the implementation of the tax change.     

Bankruptcy filings before and after implementation of the bankruptcy reform law

After the effective date of the Bankruptcy Reform Act (1979), bankruptcy filings rose sharply in most states. The increase can be ascribed partially to the fact that unemployment rose and working hours declined from 1978 to 1980. In addition, state laws on garnishment had a greater effect on bankruptcy filings in 1980 than in 1978. Nonetheless, a significant increase in filing rates from 1978 to 1980 could not be accounted for by changes in state laws or employment conditions. The evidence is consistent with the hypothesis that the Act, per se, contributed to the increase in bankruptcy filings.