Information content of Super Bowl commercials 2001–2009

Using Resnik and Stern's (1997) method, this study examines the information content of the ads embedded in the telecasts of the largest sporting event in the United States, Super Bowl. The findings of a content analysis of over 400 Super Bowl ads aired from 2001 to 2009 show that each ad contained on an average two informational cues, which are as much informative as other television ads in the United States. The packaging or shape, quality, and performance cues are the three most frequently used informational cues. In addition, think products appeared to contain a more diverse set of informational cues compared to feel products. Practical and theoretical implications and future research directions are discussed.     

Do ads that tell a story always perform better? The role of character identification and character type in storytelling ads

The growing use of storytelling as an advertising strategy for brands online poses the question of their relative effectiveness compared to more factual types of ads. In this context, this article focuses on the role of character identification and character type in the effects of narrative transportation that occur from storytelling ads. Using four experimental studies in two different contexts, two brand types, and two character types (human versus animal), the findings present a cautionary tale for the use of storytelling. By generating higher levels of narrative transportation, storytelling video ads can reduce character identification, which results in an overall decrease in positive attitude toward the brand, when using animal characters. These main findings are nuanced in the presence of joyful emotions. Implication for research and practice are discussed.     

How do Japanese consumers perceive wireless ads? A multivariate analysis

This article explores the formation of Japanese mobile users’ attitudes to pull-type wireless advertising and their willingness to ‘click’ such ads. Both theoretical and practical considerations are used to develop a structural model, which is then tested using an empirical survey conducted in the greater Tokyo area. External search, content credibility and attitude towards ads are considered as antecedents of willingness to access. Attitude towards ads is conceptualised as a consequence of two psychological motives in wireless internet adoption: perceived infotainment and perceived irritation. The structural equation modelling indicates that all the paths are statistically significant, and provides strong empirical support for our basic propositions. A further analysis classifies the sample into three groups, i.e. e-newsletter subscribers, email users and voice users, according to their demographic data. The findings reveal that e-newsletter subscribers show the most positive perceptions on all the constructs, although the mean values of the total sample are well below an anchoring point. In addition, the principal characteristics of e-newsletter subscribers indicate that so-called ‘parasite singles’ (unmarried young females living with their parents, and with high disposable income) may be playing an important role in wireless internet adoption in Japan.     

Is a website known by the banner ads it hosts?

While marketers often rely upon banner ads to generate revenues, it is unclear as to how these ads might influence consumer perceptions of host websites. In this paper, we conduct three studies to examine the effect of animation and brand advertised in a banner ad on consumers’ attitude towards a host website, as well as word-of-mouth behaviour. Results of the first study reveal that consumers are irritated with unfavourable banner brands and that irritation, in turn, negatively affects their attitude towards the host website. We demonstrate that banner brand and banner type serve as contextual cues that influence judgements of the host website due to a forward spillover effect. Findings of the second study demonstrate that a host website, corol- larily, serves as a context to negatively influence evaluations of favourable brands mainly for animated banner ads - a reciprocal spillover effect. The third study validates and extends the findings of the first study by adopting methodological pluralism through a different approach to stimuli selection and experimental manipulation. Results indicate that, while presence of animation has a negative influence on the host site and WOM behaviour when the brand advertised is an unfavourable one, it neither benefits nor hurts a host website evaluation and WOM behaviour when a favourable brand is advertised. Managerial implications of our findings are also discussed.     

Do mobile banner ads increase sales? Yes,in the offline channel

Firms allocate increasingly large budgets to mobile banner advertising. Yet, existing research paid only scant attention to the sales effects of mobile banner ads. In this paper, we fill this gap by determining the offline and online sales impact of a large-scale mobile banner advertising campaign. As part of a geographical field experiment, over 3.5 million mobile banner ads were served to a predetermined geographical area. We determine the offline and online sales effects of the mobile banner ad campaign by analyzing twenty months of sales data for regions covering the entire country of the Netherlands. Relying on a difference-in-difference approach and two matching methods, we demonstrate an offline sales increase of around 2%. The online sales effect is not significant. We conclude that firms can use mobile banner advertising to boost offline sales. We find no evidence for cross-channel sales cannibalization.     

Can skewness of the futures-spot basis predict currency spot returns?

This paper examines the relationship between skewness of the futures-spot basis and expected currency spot returns. The empirical results show that the expected spot returns are negatively correlated with the basis skewness. We find that the basis skewness exhibits statistically significant in-sample and out-of-sample forecasting power. Furthermore, the basis skewness beat the random walk (without drift) in economic measures. The impacts of the basis skewness on spot returns barely vary with time and have no structural breaks. We also find that the basis skewness can really improve the predictability of spot returns, even when the futures-spot basis is considered.     

Should donation ads include happy victim images? The moderating role of regulatory focus

We examine how victim imagery interacts with ad messaging’s regulatory focus to determine the effectiveness of donation appeals. We predict and show that ads that combine a happy victim image with a promotion-focused message uniquely increase donation intentions. We demonstrate that this occurs because the combination of promotion-focused messaging, which makes gain goals salient, and a happy victim image, which signals gains are occurring, increases consumers’ perceived response efficacy. Four studies test the interaction of victim imagery and regulatory focus showing the predicted effect. We also test the mediating role of perceived response efficacy and rule out several alternative explanations. Our findings extend prior work which has overlooked the interactive effects of victim imagery and ad messaging and the effects of victim imagery on perceived response efficacy. By exploring these dimensions, we offer marketers and consumers guidance on how to construct effective fundraising ads.     

Farewell to ＂Super National Treatment＂ of Foreign Companies in China

The year of 2010 can be called the beginning of a new era for foreign invested enterprises operating in China. The past 30 years witnessed a period when China coddled foreignfunded companies ＂super national treatment＂ for technology they brought which the Chinese government was ＂trading with China＇s market＂.     

Product returns on the Internet: A case of mixed signals?

In two studies, we investigate the interrelationship between return policy leniency and retailer quality. In the first study, we content analyze the return policies of e-tailers randomly selected from those listed at BizRate.com. Then we relate the return policy characteristics to these quality ratings. Consistent with signaling theory, we find that as the ratings of e-tailer quality increase, return policy leniency increases in non-consumable product categories. However, the positive quality/return policy leniency relationship does not hold in consumable product categories. In a follow-up experiment, we investigate how consumers interpret the return policy signal. Specifically, we find that consumers' ability to control their shopping experience and their general trust of e-tailers moderate their reactions to return policies that differ in leniency. Finally, we discuss the theoretical and managerial implications of this research.     

Do the production-based factors capture the time-varying patterns in stock returns?

As a summarization of previously suggested production-based approaches, Chen et al. (2010) propose two production-based factors. We examine whether the proposed factors explain the time-varying patterns in stock returns, captured by the common conditioning variables. With a variety of test portfolios, we find that the fitted conditional expected return (fit) is always statistically significant in the presence of the production-based factors. Moreover, when the fit is included in the analysis, the magnitude of the production-based factors becomes consistently smaller and the fit drives out the significance of the production-based factors. Our empirical results cast some doubt on the validity of the production-based model as a conditional benchmark for risk adjustment.     

Overreaction in ChiNext IPOs' initial returns: How much and what caused it?

This paper studies overreaction in initial returns for ChiNext IPOs. We hypothesize the initial return contains a fundamental underpricing and an overreaction. The fundamental is represented by the 21st day return and the difference between the initial and 21st day returns represents overreaction. We investigate this conjecture and identify the variables that are significant for both returns, for one but not for the other, and for the difference. The initial return is driven more by short-term and market factors that cause overreaction while the 21st day return is affected more by an issuer's fundamentals. The overreaction is only weakly time-varying.     

The cross-section of returns in frontier equity markets: Integrated or segmented pricing?

Is asset pricing segmented or integrated in frontier equity markets? To answer this question, we examine the returns on more than 4500 stocks from 22 frontier countries for the years 1997–2018. We evaluate the performance of a few major asset pricing models. We document strong value and momentum effects but find no consistent evidence regarding size, investment, and profitability premia. The recent six-factor model of Fama and French (2018) outperforms other models and best explains the cross-sectional and time-series variation in returns. Our results point to low integration of frontier equities, even after the global financial crisis. Local risk factors explain the behavior of prices much better than their global counterparts do. The low correlation of these risk factors allows augmenting the efficient frontier of an international investor.     

Super Ministries,Better Administration

Chinese lawmakers on March 15th endorsed a State Council proposal for institutional overhaul of the cen- tral government,which involves the estab- lishment of"super ministries"concerning energy,transport,industry and environ- mental protection. The plan includes the establishment     

高端超市的Super Secret

2010年6月,CitySuper进驻上海陆家嘴国金中心时,在十里洋场的上海滩并未引起太多关注。一则世博会风头一时无二,二来也是因为CitySuper所自称的高端超市此时在同内已有BHG和Ole’抢先入市,北上广的消费者经过一波新鲜感之后,发觉高端超市不过多些进口食品和高档产品、环境宽松优雅一些而已,     

The intention to click on sponsored ads—A study of the role of prior knowledge and of consumer profile

The activity of e-tailers relies entirely on their ability to attract potential consumers to their websites. This research addresses online consumer reactions toward today’s major online advertising tool that is sponsored ads. It examines the moderating role of prior knowledge. An online survey is conducted on 272 actual Internet users. The results support the moderating role of prior knowledge and suggest that when Internet users are knowledgeable of sponsored links and hold a favorable attitude toward them, the positive impact on click intention is reinforced. The profile of favorable surfers is very close to the one of online shoppers.     

North–South trade liberalization and returns to skill in the south: The case of Mexico

This study examines the effect of North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), an instance of North–South trade liberalization, on returns to skill in Mexico. Mexico is abundant in low-skill workers relative to the US and Canada, and so, by the Heckscher–Ohlin–Samuelson trade model, NAFTA ought to have raised the relative earnings of low-skill workers, that is, lowered returns to skill in Mexico. Analysis of Mexican labour micro-data yields the finding that while returns to skill in industries producing tradeables have risen, ceteris paribus, since Mexico embarked upon trade liberalization by joining the GATT in 1986, this rise was less pronounced by 1999 in industries liberalized relatively rapidly by NAFTA, launched in 1994, than in industries liberalized relatively slowly by this phased trade treaty. This is considered evidence of NAFTA holding back rise in returns to skill, since it is plausible such a dampening would have been more marked in industries more rapidly exposed to trade with Mexico's skill abundant northern neighbours. Hence, this study suggests trade with developed nations may lower returns to skill in developing nations.     

How do consumers process digital display ads in-store? The effect of location,content, and goal relevance

This study examines under which circumstances customers are more likely to process in-store digital display ads. An exploratory field study is conducted (n = 296), with a between-subjects, 2 (value-expressive versus utilitarian messages) by 2 (entrance versus register location) by 2 (low versus high goal relevance) quasi-experimental design, in a retail store of horticulture-, baking- and pet supplies. The findings show that DS can appeal to both segments of customers when positioned in proximity to the register, rather than the entrance. In terms of the content displayed, there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach as both types of content have different effects, depending on the shopping goal of the customer.     

Super Sport Builds up Super Brand-Shanghai Double Happiness Crown City Sporting Goods Ltd.

As the biggest sporting goods company, DHS has achieved a series of splendid achievements. With the approaching 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, China's Foreign Trade has an exclusive interview with Huang Yongwu, Chairman of the board, Shanghai Double Happiness Crown City Sporting Goods Ltd. He discussed the growth of DHS, and how it plans to develop to domestic and international markets, and, to welcome the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.     

Can time-varying risk premiums explain the excess returns in the interest rate parity condition?

This paper shows that the deviations from the UIP condition are equally large in advanced and emerging market economies. Using monthly data, and a GARCH-M model we find that a large share of these deviations in both country groups are explained by time-varying risk premium. To more clearly identify risk premium shocks, we then estimate a two-country, New Keynesian, DSGE model using a Bayesian methodology and quarterly data. The results suggest that at the quarterly frequency, the large deviations from the UIP condition and the high explanatory power of risk premium are only observed for emerging market economies.