Advertising “like a girl”: Toward a better understanding of “femvertising” and its effects

This paper investigates the impact of femvertising (female empowerment advertising). More specifically, it hypothesizes that femvertising (vs. traditional portrayals of females in advertising) will reduce ad reactance among a female target audience, and that this in turn will enhance ad and brand attitudes. The results of three experimental studies indicate that this is indeed the case, and that the results hold across print and digital media, for five different product categories, and for femvertising focusing on challenging female stereotypes in terms of physical characteristics as well as the roles and occupations used to portray women in advertising. Although previous studies of the effects of female portrayals tend to focus on social comparison and self‐identity, the current paper considers the role of psychological reactance to (more or less) stereotypical portrayals in explaining these effects. The results suggest that marketers have much to gain from adapting a more proactive and mindful approach to the female portrayals they use in their ads.     

A note on the “unique” business cycle in the Keynesian theory

In this paper, we explore the existence and “uniqueness” of a limit cycle in the Keynesian theory. In a model with the simplest (linear) Keynesian consumption function and the logistic investment function based upon the profit principle, we establish the existence of a periodic orbit (irrespective of the speed of quantity adjustment) and, with the help of the theory on generalized Liénard systems, verify the uniqueness of it for the case in which the speed of quantity adjustment is large enough.     

You look “mahvelous”: The pursuit of beauty and the marketing concept

Research has repeatedly shown that substantial benefits accrue to those who are attractive. Knowledge of such benefits seems to be shared by the general public, and billions of dollars annually are spent on appearance-enhancing products. This article examines the functions of adornments and their linkage to attractiveness assessments. In addition, a number of influences on level of adornment usage are described. Finally, consequences for marketers are discussed along with a proposed research agenda.     

Raising the Mandatory Retirement Age and its Effect on Long‐run Income and Pay‐as‐you‐go (PAYG) Pensions

In this paper we study the effects of raising the mandatory retirement age in the neoclassical growth model context. It is shown that postponement of the retirement age may be harmful for long‐run income and even for pensions. Our findings show that the retirement age might be reduced, thereby obtaining a higher income and even higher pension benefits. This suggests that the idea that a higher mandatory age of retirement is always beneficial in the long run for income and pension payments is theoretically controversial.     

“Me” versus “We” in moral dilemmas: Group composition and social influence effects on group utilitarianism

The paper is one of the first empirical attempts that builds on the moral dilemmas and group rationality literature to explore the way in which group composition with respect to group members’ individual choices in moral dilemmas and social influence processes impact on group moral choices. First individually and then, in small groups, 221 participants were asked to decide on 10 moral dilemmas. Our results show that emergent group level utilitarianism is higher than the average individual utilitarianism, yet, lower than the highest individual utilitarianism within groups. We also show that average individual utilitarianism positively predicts group utilitarianism while group fragmentation in individual utilitarianism has a negative effect on group utilitarianism. Next to group composition, minority influence processes explain additional variance in group utilitarianism, cognitive dissent having a positive influence, while normative deviance a negative influence on group utilitarianism. Majority influence has no significant influence on group utilitarianism. Finally, our results show that the relationship between group fragmentation in individual utilitarianism and emergent group utilitarianism is mediated by the two forms of minority influence.     

Religion and the Clash of “Ideals” and “Realities” in Business: The Case of Islamic Bonds (Sukuk)

Fueled by an increasing demand for investments that comply with Shariah (Islamic law), sukuk (Islamic investment certificates or participation certificates) have developed as one of the main components of the Islamic finance industry. In general, sukuk can be structured as asset based or asset backed, yielding wholly different risk profiles in the event of default and liquidation. However, given that the sukuk market is dominated by asset‐based sukuk, this article examines the motivation for greater interest in this specific sukuk structure. It also analyzes the challenges facing the regulatory framework and tax implemented for Islamic securitization in various jurisdictions. Then, it further evaluates, from the perspective of credit rating agencies, the importance of purchase undertakings in the structure and some controversies on this very point. The main issue that emerges is the difficulty of resolving the clash between the ideals of Islam and the realities of the marketplace. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

“Going global” and FDI inflows in China: “One Belt & One Road” initiative as a quasi‐natural experiment

This paper investigates the impact of “One Belt & One Road” as an exogenous policy shock on the utilisation of foreign capital in China in the short term. Based on provincial panel data for the years 2003–15, the empirical study is conducted with difference‐in‐differences design. The first difference is whether a province is an OBOR province, and the second is whether “One Belt & One Road” initiative has been proposed. The empirical results suggest the utilisation of foreign capital in OBOR provinces has decreased significantly compared to non‐OBOR provinces after the initiative has been proposed. The study has further shown that the OBOR construction not only means factor movements and projects but also stands for policy shock. Its impact on utilisation of foreign capital cannot be simply captured by the commonly quantifiable “going global” indicators, namely outward direct investment, overseas contracted projects or overseas labour services. The negative impact of the initiative on foreign capital utilisation is strongly reflected in the OBOR provinces with low levels of economic development, heavy fiscal burdens and high proportions of state‐owned economy. In the short term, the negative impact of the initiative on foreign capital utilisation may be due to its role in resource competition and signal delivering. The former means that the OBOR initiative may induce resource competition between “going global” and “bringing in,” and the latter suggests that this initiative is likely to be regarded as a “signal” by foreign investors that “going global,” not “bringing in,” has become the priority of the government.     

The “You and I” of Happiness: Investigating the Long‐Term Impact of Self‐ and Other‐Focused Happiness‐Enhancing Activities

It is commonly known in the positive psychology literature that people who want to increase their happiness ought to engage in so‐called happiness‐enhancing activities. Building on this stream of research, work that emphasizes the duality of happiness (affect vs. meaning) is introduced in order to propose a new conceptualization of happiness activities. The new conceptualization distinguishes between self‐ and other‐focused happiness activities, and argues for the importance of other‐focused activities over self‐focused ones. Results from a six‐week long study show that other‐focused happiness activities consistently outperformed self‐focused ones in terms of raising participants’ levels of happiness. Although self‐focused happiness activities also increased happiness, by showing increases over time relative to participants’ baseline level, other‐focused happiness activities consistently outperformed such increases.     

Contrasting “complainers” with “non‐complainers” on attitude toward complaining,propensity to complain,and key personality characteristics: A nomological look

This study examines the influence of four personality characteristics (self‐efficacy, Machiavellianism, perceived control, and risk‐taking) on consumer attitude toward complaining and propensity to complain. The proposed model is tested on two groups of consumers classified as “complainers” and “non‐complainers.” The findings reveal that the two groups differ distinctly on the pattern of relationships among the variables. The implications of these differences are discussed. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The erosion of stable shareholder practice in Japan (“Anteikabunushi Kosaku”)

This study reviews the academic literature to explain internationalisation, mode of entry choice and strategic momentum theory. In this research, we ask whether DiMaggio's theory of isomorphism can be applied to Japan, given the country's Anteikabunushi Kosaku practices and the evidence cited in the literature that suggests that national culture influences managerial work values and Japanese entry mode strategies.We suggest that Japanese management attitudes towards entry mode strategy are changing due to a change in corporate governance policy and competition. In response, we argue that Japan's stable shareholder practice is eroding and that as a result of this erosion, the change observed in institutional behaviour is isomorphic.     

Consumer responses to the depth and minimum claimed savings of “Scratch and Save (SAS)” promotions

This study examines consumers' responses to advertisements employing “Scratch and Save” (SAS) type promotions, which are emerging store‐level promotional tools. Due to SAS promotions' “gambling” characteristics, they offer the possibility of high savings levels, however, they also confront the consumer with uncertainty about the value of the discount at the point of purchase. Particular attention is paid to the depth of the claimed savings, and its effect on regular price believability and consumers' expected savings, as well as perceived value and shopping intentions. The depth of the advertised SAS promotions was observed to not affect consumer believability of the regular price in SAS advertisements. In addition, the disjunction effect is made applicable through showing that the minimum claimed saving information enhances the level of savings expectation. The results also report the positive impact of expected savings on offer value and, in turn, shopping intentions. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.