Information direction, website reputation and eWOM effect: A moderating role of product type

This article examines how the electronic word of mouth (eWOM) information direction (positive vs. negative) and a website's reputation (established vs. unestablished) contribute to the eWOM effect. The article describes a study focusing on the moderating role of the product type (search vs. experience). The results of the experiment show that the eWOM effect is greater for negative eWOM than for positive eWOM, greater for established websites than for unestablished websites, and greater for experience goods than for search goods. The results support the moderating effects of product type on the eWOM information direction-website reputation-eWOM effect relationship. The impact of negative eWOM on the eWOM effect is greater for experience goods than for search goods. Similarly, the impact of website reputation on the eWOM effect is greater for experience goods than for search goods. The findings provide managerial implications for an Internet marketing strategy.     

Error analysis of finite difference and Markov chain approximations for option pricing

Mijatovi? and Pistorius proposed an efficient Markov chain approximation method for pricing European and barrier options in general one‐dimensional Markovian models. However, sharp convergence rates of this method for realistic financial payoffs, which are nonsmooth, are rarely available. In this paper, we solve this problem for general one‐dimensional diffusion models, which play a fundamental role in financial applications. For such models, the Markov chain approximation method is equivalent to the method of lines using the central difference. Our analysis is based on the spectral representation of the exact solution and the approximate solution. By establishing the convergence rate for the eigenvalues and the eigenfunctions, we obtain sharp convergence rates for the transition density and the price of options with nonsmooth payoffs. In particular, we show that for call‐/put‐type payoffs, convergence is second order, while for digital‐type payoffs, convergence is generally only first order. Furthermore, we provide theoretical justification for two well‐known smoothing techniques that can restore second‐order convergence for digital‐type payoffs and explain oscillations observed in the convergence for options with nonsmooth payoffs. As an extension, we also establish sharp convergence rates for European options for a rich class of Markovian jump models constructed from diffusions via subordination. The theoretical estimates are confirmed using numerical examples.     

A NOTE ON TRADE ELASTICITIES IN ASIAN COUNTRIES

This article estimates the price and income elasticities of import and export demands for India, Japan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Thailand using annual time series data. Both price and income elasticities of import demand are found to be in the inelastic range for all five countries. Export demand is found to be price elastic for Japan, the Philippines, and Thailand and price inelastic for India and Sri Lanka. Export demand is found to be income elastic for Japan but not for the other four countries. The Marshall-Lerner-Robinson condition states that a devaluation improves the balance of trade position only if the sum of the absolute values of price elasticity of import demand and the price elasticity of export demand is greater than one. This condition is met for India, Japan, the Philippines, and Thailand but not for Sri Lanka.     

A double-edged sword? The antipodal effects of institutional distance on partner selection in cross-border alliances

Careful partner selection is a prerequisite for successful alliances. I posit that institutional distance will influence partner selection in international technological alliances negatively for exploitation, and positively for exploration alliances. A longitudinal dataset of firms in the global tire industry confirms firms’ preference for similar cognitive, normative, and regulatory partners in exploitation alliances, and a preference for dissimilar partners in exploration alliances. However, the latter is true for differences across the regulative and cognitive pillars rather than for normative differences. These findings attest to the antipodal role of institutional differences in the selection of prospective partners for cross-border technological alliances.     

Real-Time Forecasting Revisited: Letting the Data Decide

Real-time GDP forecasting, also often known as “nowcasting,” produces estimates for current-quarter real GDP growth, typically based on a centered value from a set of estimates from incoming indicators. These real-time measures are usually intended to be data-based and to not be based on forecaster judgment or add factors. Even so, estimation methodologies in this research area—and prior versions of the system we use—typically have been constrained by using various “fixed” relationships, such as a fixed historical sample horizon and fixed empirical specifications for the indicator variables. This paper describes the methodology, estimation, and software code for a more flexible real-time GDP system that allows the data to decide the best real-time GDP forecast for varying sample horizons and varying specifications for each indicator variable through time. Our system uses data on key indicators as they become available (accounting for the “jagged-edge” nature of the data in the current quarter) to generate an estimate of current-quarter real GDP growth, with weights for combining the indicator-specific estimates as determined by the strength of the indicators’ historical relationships to GDP growth. The improved system searches across a variety of specifications and across sample horizons to choose the best specification as determined by a minimum Schwarz criterion test while also searching for the best sample horizon for minimizing the mean absolute error for a recent prediction period. We illustrate the operation of the system for real-time estimates of real GDP growth over a specific quarter, and examine the properties of the estimates and the implications for predictions. We also discuss potential additional applications and demonstrate a specific application for real-time predictions of the monthly change in payroll jobs.     

Service provider responses to anxious and angry customers: different challenges, different payoffs

Anxiety and anger, two frequently experienced emotions during service consumption, arise from different appraisals of the eliciting event, i.e., attribution to uncontrollable circumstances and low coping potential for anxiety versus attribution to providers and high coping potential for anger. These appraisal differences were hypothesized to impact the occurrence of supportive provider responses (higher for anxiety than for anger), and the value given to supportive responses by anxious versus angry customers (higher evaluation for anxiety than for anger). It was also hypothesized that, although evaluation of provider response would mediate the relationship between the intensity of both anger and anxiety and satisfaction with the service encounter as a whole, the power of this mediating effect would be stronger for anxiety than for anger. Hypotheses were confirmed in a survey of air travel passengers reporting episodes of anxiety and anger. Implications of these results for challenges and payoffs involved in the development of adaptive response strategies to anxious and angry customers are discussed.     

Gender,fashion consumer group,need for touch and Korean apparel consumers' shopping channel preference

Shopping preferences are affected by the culture in which an individual grows up as well as by individual differences in consumers such as differences in gender, fashion leadership and need for touch. The current study examined the influence of consumers' need for touch and fashion leadership on preference for shopping outlets (e.g. touch and non‐touch shopping channels) between genders and within a particular culture. The purpose of this study was to examine gender, fashion consumer group, need for touch and Korean apparel consumers' shopping channel preference. Participants were a convenience sample of 262 Korean college students who were recruited in Changwon, South Korea. A questionnaire was compiled that included a request for demographic information, the Need For Touch scale, the Measure of Fashion Innovativeness and Opinion Leadership, and items assessing preference for touch and non‐touch shopping channels for clothing. Women and men did not differ in overall need for touch or instrumental need for touch. Fashion change agents and fashion followers did not differ in their preference for touch and non‐touch shopping channels. Preference for touch shopping channels was more greatly affected by variables such as need for touch, gender, and fashion innovativeness and opinion leadership than preference for non‐touch shopping channels. Preference for non‐touch shopping channels was virtually unaffected by the variables examined in the current study. Implications for theory and research are provided.     

Support for the Use of Deception Within the Work Environment: A Comparison of Israeli and United States Employee Attitudes

As businesses become more global, the opportunities for employees to work with individuals from different cultures increase. Research in cross-cultural interactions has increased in response to such changes. This research study considers employee attitudes and perceived organizational support for the use of deception within the work environment. In this study, two types of deception have been considered; deception for personal gain and deception for the organization's benefit. The reported likelihood for committing these two types of deception for United States and Israeli employees was gathered. The results indicate that United States employees are more likely to deceive others for personal gain than the Israeli employees. In addition, the results indicate that United States employees were more likely to perceive organizational support for the use of deception for personal gain than were the Israeli employees. No differences between the two samples were found for personal or organizational support for deception for the organization's benefit. Differences are explained using Hofstede's (1991) theory of international cultures.     

The currency denomination of exports — A questionnaire study

We report survey results on the currency choice of a random sample of Swedish exporters. We find that for an overwhelming share of exports, the price, invoice and settlement currency is the same. The currency of the customer is the most used, with Swedish kronor and vehicle currencies accounting for approximately equal shares. Currency choice is similar for intra-firm and between-firm trade. We also find that negotiations are important for both the price and for the currency choice. A minority of firms use posted prices for their main exports — the median price adjustment for those firms is once per year.     

AP1000锻件制造过程中机加工问题经验总结

本文主要对AP1000锻件制造过程中机加工问题进行了经验总结，主要对于机加工过程中由于人因失误导致的质量问题扶产生的原因分析和如何进行预防进行了阐述，并且对监造人员在机加工过程中能够做出的积极应对进行了分析总结，有助于国内锻件制造商机加工相关工作水平的提高，对锻件机加工有着一定的参考和借鉴意义。     

Analyses of non-fatal accidents in an opencast mine by logistic regression model – a case study

Accidents cause major damage for both workers and enterprises in the mining industry. To reduce the number of occupational accidents, these incidents should be properly registered and carefully analysed. This study efficiently examines the Aegean Lignite Enterprise (ELI) of Turkish Coal Enterprises (TKI) in Soma between 2006 and 2011, and opencast coal mine occupational accident records were used for statistical analyses. A total of 231 occupational accidents were analysed for this study. The accident records were categorized into seven groups: area, reason, occupation, part of body, age, shift hour and lost days. The SPSS package program was used in this study for logistic regression analyses, which predicted the probability of accidents resulting in greater or less than 3 lost workdays for non-fatal injuries. Social facilities-area of surface installations, workshops and opencast mining areas are the areas with the highest probability for accidents with greater than 3 lost workdays for non-fatal injuries, while the reasons with the highest probability for these types of accidents are transporting and manual handling. Additionally, the model was tested for such reported accidents that occurred in 2012 for the ELI in Soma and estimated the probability of exposure to accidents with lost workdays correctly by 70%.     

中国企业首次公开发行上市交易所选择策略分析

本文认为.影响我国企业首次公开发行上市交易所选择行为的因素,包括发行上市条件、发行审核上市便利性、发行上市费用、募集资金能力及风险等.选择境内外不同的交易所各有利弊,企业应根据自己的规模、所处行业、拓展领域、证券交易所特点等因素综合考虑来选择适合自己的交易所.一般而言,剔除审核时间、产品出口等不确定因素外,自身规模较小、募集资金较少的中小企业,从发行上市总费用、市盈率、市净率等角度考虑,应选择境内中小企业板发行上市,从实现最快流通的角度考虑,则可以注册离岸公司选择伦敦创业板、香港创业板或新加坡主板发行上市;自身规模较小、具有高增长潜质的企业从投资者偏好、市盈率等角度考虑,可选择美国纳斯达克资本市场发行上市;自身规模较大、募集资金较多的大型企业,从市场交易投资状况、市场容量、资金充沛的角度考虑,应选择境内A股市场、香港主板、美国纽约证券交易所、纳斯达克国内精选市场发行上市.     

Does aid for trade diversify the export structure of recipient countries?

The importance of aid for trade as a tool for facilitating trade, economic growth and social development has received attention since the concept was introduced in 2005. While one of the main targets of aid for trade is export diversification, reflecting the fact that the exports of many developing countries are concentrated in a small range of items, there have not been many efforts to measure the effect of aid for trade on export structure. This study, therefore, attempts to trace the relationship between aid for trade and 133 aid recipients' export structure between 1996 and 2013. Using the Herfindahl–Hirschman Index to measure the degree of export concentration, the findings suggest that total aid for trade has reduced the concentration level in the short run. In the long run, on the other hand, aid for trade has had no significant effect on export structure of recipient countries. Only aid for building productive capacity, which is one of the three categories of aid for trade, contributes to lower concentration. Yet, this change is not caused by an increase in export diversity but by the redistribution of shares of existing products of a similar sophistication level.     

基于企业组织视角的老年服务产业供给分析

随着我国人口老龄化进程的不断加快,发展老年服务产业迫在眉睫。基于企业组织视角从市场需求、服务内容、政策扶持、风险管理方面对老年服务产业的供给所进行的分析显示:目前我国老年服务产业远没有达到应有的水平,老年服务市场资源匮乏、种类稀少,产业竞争力小;老年服务项目主要有上门服务和组织活动;政府可从对老年服务企业的税收、补贴以及志愿者政策三方面入手,建立老年服务型产业链;应注意规避使用志愿者风险和企业经营风险,从而进一步推进老年服务产业的快速健康发展。     

中式餐饮企业新型核心竞争力发展模式研究

通过对近年来获得资本市场投资的中式餐饮企业进行分析,本文梳理了中式餐饮企业核心竞争力的发展变化,指出产品与管理标准化的缺失是目前中式餐饮企业发展面临的主要瓶颈;对核心竞争力的培养不能局限于传统的对品质、服务、清洁、价值的追求,及对企业传统文化、地域文化的保护,资本化、工业化和信息化是解决中式餐饮企业发展瓶颈的有力保证;通过整合上下游资源,建立中央厨房,使用智能化工业设备,利用信息化技术改变企业外部沟通模式和内部管理模式等,中式餐饮企业将建立起自己的新型核心竞争力。     

我国道路交通事故社会救助基金实施问题的思考

新交法规定我国实行机动车第三者责任强制保险制度,设立道路交通事故社会救助基金,目的在于加强对交通事故受害人的保护。随着《机动车交通事故责任强制保险条例》的生效实施,机动车交通事故强制责任保险制度开始运行并发挥作用,但是与之配套的道路交通事故社会救助基金制度的相关立法却尚未到位。本文拟在分析道路交通事故社会救助基金功能、立法现状的基础上,借鉴发达国家立法经验,对我国道路交通事故社会救助基金管理机构的设立及运行提出建议。     

大规模定制供应链研究述评

近年来,把大规模定制与供应链结合起来的研究较多。本文回顾和整理了国内外的大规模定制供应链文献,分析了大规模定制供应链特征、运作优化、延迟策略、计划调度、客户订单分离点定位对大规模定制供应链影响等研究热点,提出了大规模定制供应链运作存在的局限性,对大规模定制供应链的未来研究提出了展望。     

Technology,science and American innovation

This article offers for consideration four propositions about business, government, and innovation in the post-World War Two United States, points which may have a wider resonance as well. They concern the long term role of continuous innovation, technology–science relationships, state-led problem setting for innovation, and the ‘permanent uncertainties’ that arise from Cold War-era technological advance. Each of these has implications for the practice of business history, for conceptualizing innovation, and for our understanding of post-war science–technology trajectories.     

市场准出与多边货物贸易体制关系研究——兼评“限制出口案”的抗辩思路

长期以来,人们对于多边货物贸易体制的理解往往停留在市场准入这一层面,即降低进口产品关税、向进口产品开放市场。形成这种片面理解的原因固然是多方面的,其中最主要的还是与世贸组织的前身——关贸总协定创设期间的国际贸易环境有关。经过第二次世界大战的浩劫,各国政府都面临外汇短缺,都想通过扩大出口以增加财政收入。因此,人们习惯把关注的目光聚焦在关贸总协定各缔约方是否有效消除针对进口的关税壁垒和非关税壁垒。事实上,多边货物贸易体制规制的对象是双重的,即在要求世贸组织成员对其它成员开放本国(地区)市场的同时,也要求其降低本国(地区)产品出口的门槛。最近发生在中国与其它世贸组织成员之间有关中国限制部分产品出口的贸易纠纷使人们对于市场准出与多边贸易体制之间的关系有了新的认识。