When consumers penalize not so green products

To cash in on consumers’ willingness to pay higher prices for green products, several companies are promoting conventional products as green by highlighting a few green attributes. Through a theoretical lens, the authors investigate how consumers perceive such attempts. This research illustrates that not so green products make consumers sensitive to the monetary sacrifice associated with the purchase of such products. The current research shows that consumers have a negative attitude toward such products and they become concerned about the ethicality of the company when they encounter such products. Both implicit and explicit measures suggest that consumers notice the company's motive behind such practices which, in turn, impacts their price perceptions.     

Discretionary power of project managers in knowledge‐intensive firms and gender issues

The scarcity of women among highly qualified professionals in business‐to‐business information and communication technologies (ICT) in Europe and in North America has been noted as recently as the late 1990s (Panteli, Stack, Atkinson, & Ramsay, 1999). The organization and management of work in such firms is typically project‐based. This has many consequences, including: long working hours with fierce resistance to any reduction, unpaid overtime, high management expectations of employee flexibility to meet unanticipated client demands, and the need for employees to negotiate flexible work arrangements on a case‐by‐case basis with a project manager who often has much discretion on whether to accommodate such requests. We found that women are particularly disadvantaged in such a system, which could partly explain their under‐representation in such jobs. Copyright © 2010 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An Internalisation‐based World Environmental Organisation

We evaluate the possibilities for a new World Environmental Organisation (WEO), with our discussion motivated both by recent calls for such an organisation in light of WTO trade and environment conflicts and the relative absence of internalisation of global externalities. We propose an organisation building upon the idea of facilitating Coasian deal on the global environment. We motivate the establishment of such an organisation by itemising the ways in which global environmental deals are presently restrained by various impediments, including free riding, property right ambiguities, and mechanisms for authentification and verification. We indicate how such a WEO might help in each of these areas, stressing the differences from the WTO which is a much narrower bargaining framework.     

Consumer advocacy: Examining the feeling and doing following a failed service encounter

Dissatisfactory service experiences and consumer complaints following such experiences are everyday occurrences. Prior research has not only examined the emotions experienced because of failed service encounters but also has explored the resultant behaviours towards the service provider and the service. However, prior research does not distinguish between negative word-of-mouth (NWOM) motivated by marketplace-helping behaviour such as consumer advocacy and NWOM as venting triggered by emotions such as anger and frustration. The current study examines the direct relationship between regret and disappointment and consumer advocacy. Unlike past studies, the current study explores two types of customer dissatisfaction: agent based and outcome based. Study 1 uses a vignette methodology, and Study 2 uses experience sampling in which respondents provide personal episodes of failed service encounters. In contrast with a previous proposition, we find that regret has a significant negative relationship with consumer advocacy. Disappointment based on external events demonstrates a significant positive relationship, whereas disappointment caused by another person has a weaker relationship with consumer advocacy.     

Interpersonal similarity and knowledge sharing within multinational organizations

Previous research has established that interpersonal similarity can influence knowledge sharing in such a way that similar people are more likely to share knowledge than those who are dissimilar. We contribute to the literature by showing that in the MNC context, cultural and functional similarity can become more powerful sources of bias than more commonly assumed demographic characteristics such as gender or seniority. This may be driven by the salience of such boundaries in the MNC: while demographic characteristics are more broadly distributed, cultural and functional barriers create more defined and observable faultlines, often coinciding with unit boundaries. We further argue that it may not be similarity as such that matters but rather its positive impact on different dimensions of social capital, which mediate the relationship between similarity and knowledge sharing. These microfoundations of inter-unit knowledge exchange point to important theoretical and practical implications for international management.     

A Global Assessment of the Economic Effects of Export Taxes

This paper uses a new detailed global data set on export taxes at the HS6 level and the MIRAGE global Computable General Equilibrium model to assess the impact of export taxes on the world economy. We find that removing export taxes would have worldwide effects: the average export tax on global merchandise trade was 0.48 per cent in 2007, with the bulk of these taxes imposed on energy products. The removal of these taxes would increase global welfare by 0.23 per cent, a larger figure than expected gains from the Doha Round. Both developed and emerging economies, such as China and India, would gain from such policies even if they currently impose export taxes. Medium and small food‐importing countries without market power (such as the least‐developed countries) would also benefit from the elimination of export restrictions – especially during food crisis situations. Both the energy sector and the export taxes implemented by the Commonwealth of Independent States countries appear to play a critical role in the overall economic impact of such a policy change. However, the fact that some countries, such as Argentina, would experience income losses due to such a policy change is a major challenge to overall positive reform in this area.     

Can gamification increases consumers’ engagement in fitness apps? The moderating role of commensurability of the game elements

Many app firms have adopted gamification, aiming at making consumers more engaging and loyal. Given the ambivalent evidence on the effectiveness of gamification, this study proposes that the effectiveness of gamification is moderated by the types of game elements, i.e., commensurate and incommensurate. Commensurate elements, such as points, are directly associated with performances such as step counts, and may be perceived by consumers as external incentives to their efforts; whereas incommensurate elements, such as “likes”, are not directly related to performances, and may be considered as avenues to satisfy psychological needs, leading to stronger intrinsic motivation. Results from a longitudinal field study confirm that compared with apps using commensurate elements, apps using incommensurate elements can better help increase intrinsic motivation and further enhance engagement and loyalty.     

以反垄断替代反倾销研究

以反垄断替代反倾销是指对跨国境的价格歧视行为.可以以反垄断法加以规制而少用或不用反倾销工具.文章认为,相互取消反倾销,但并不代之以反垄断,这种建议是目前较为可行的,并建议在双边或区域性层面首先进行这样的努力.     

Social Motives and Trust: Implications for Joint Gains in Negotiations

This study examined the role of trust via contingency model in a multi-issue multi-party negotiation setting and how it relates to outcomes. Results of a laboratory experiment with 288 undergraduate students confirmed both a main effect of Social Value Orientations (SVO), such that cooperative negotiators achieved higher joint gains than pro-self negotiators, and a main effect of Motivational Orientations (MO), such that pro-social negotiators attained higher joint gains than egoistic-oriented negotiators. Furthermore, the predicted interaction effect between SVO and MO, such that negotiators with a pro-self SVO attained higher joint gains in a pro-social, in contrast to an egoistic MO, condition was confirmed. This effect was fully mediated by trust. The dimension of trust that explained the SVO and MO interaction was that of concern for fellow negotiators as rated by oneself, as well as by an objective third-party observer. Implications for the strategic use of social motives and trust on effective information exchange and negotiated outcomes are discussed.     

我国电子商务企业自建物流现状及对策——基于企业边界视角

物流对电子商务的发展有着十分重要的影响,随着我国电子商务企业规模的急剧扩大,自建物流成为一种趋势。电子商务企业自建物流受交易成本、核心能力的制约,存在着过度依赖外部投资、区域发展不平衡、竞争激烈导致的利润率低、外部环境差、管理成本高等方面的问题,应从打造品牌、转变发展方式、电子商务企业与快递企业建立战略合作伙伴关系等方面寻求出路。     

The political motivations of ethical consumers

Consumer‐driven labelling schemes such as Fairtrade and the Forest Stewardship Council, are based upon several assumptions of consumer decision making and behaviour. This study aimed to test the validity of some of these assumptions, including the belief that consumers are acting ‘on behalf’ of workers and communities in economically developing countries by supporting fair and ethical trade. It examines the political motivations underlying ethical consumption, such as its relationship to other forms of political activism, reasons behind high purchase frequency and how existing values interact with consumption choices. Drawing upon the results of a series of six focus groups with 58 participants and a nationally representative panel‐based survey of 1014 Australian consumers, this paper argues that many of the factors involved in consumer decision making are inconsistent with the assumptions made by private economic governance schemes in attempting to harness consumer power, calling into question the effectiveness and legitimacy of such schemes. However, by tailoring the marketing strategies to different types of consumers, along with suppliers and retailers, these schemes can potentially increase their effectiveness.     

How retailer money-back guarantees influence consumer preferences for retailer versus national brands

Retailers often use money-back guarantees to reduce consumer perceived risk about brand quality and to increase their market share. The effect of such guarantees on perceived product quality and ultimately preference and product choice depends on their perceived value and credibility, related to other extrinsic clues, such as price and brand. An analysis of an experimental design with a national sample of consumers shows that compared with a simple money-back guarantee, a double money-back guarantee does not further increase the relative preference for a retailer brand over a national brand. Furthermore, the size of the effect of a money-back guarantee is small, moderated by the effects of other information on product quality, such as the size of the price differential between retailer and national brands. Finally, the effect of a money-back guarantee differs, depending on the customer–retailer relationship: A retailer with high credibility can influence regular customers less by guarantees.     

Problems of foreign subsidiaries of SMEs compared with large companies

This paper draws on institutional theory, supplemented with foreign direct investment (FDI) theory, to explain the level of problems encountered by foreign subsidiaries of Japanese small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and compares them with large companies. The study confirms the importance of institutional factors such as institutional distance, legitimacy, and the state's coercive influence, as well as factors that FDI theory suggests are associated with multinationals, such as high technology and industry concentration. SMEs differ from large companies in some of the operational areas in which their foreign subsidiaries face high levels of problems, but both seem challenged by problems with labor and low-price foreign competition.     

How Does Perceived Effectiveness Affect Adults’ Ethical Acceptance of Anti-obesity Threat Appeals to Children? When the Going Gets Tough,the Audience Gets Going

Little is known on the appraisal of ethically questionable not- for-profit actions such as social marketing advertising campaigns. The present study evaluates the ethical acceptance by adults of anti-obesity threat appeals targeting children, depending on the claimed effectiveness of the campaign. An experiment conducted among 176 Belgian participants by means of an online survey shows that individuals’ acceptance of social marketing practices increases along with the claimed effectiveness of the campaign. As such it demonstrates that the audience adopts a pragmatic perspective, challenging the non-consequentialist stance of social marketers who refrain themselves from using these ‘questionable’ techniques although highly effective. The trade-off between ethical judgment and claimed effectiveness varies depending on whether the threats focus on the child’s physical integrity or social life. Individual characteristics such as parenthood and age also influence the relationship. All in all, it seems that people with stronger connections to the issue such as parents are more ready to compromise. These findings enrich our insights into consequentialism in social marketing campaigns, how people respond to controversial messages targeted at vulnerable group, and open new venues to social managers and public policy makers. Managerial implications and concrete advice on how to communicate with the various audiences are proposed, as well as suggestions for future studies.     

Developing strategic alliances for export stimulation: A new challenge for local administrations

Export stimulation is a critical consideration for local economic development. As a public policy component, different localities must develop strategic alliances to stimulate local export activities. Stimulating export activity, particularly by small and medium-sized businesses, is essential for progress in this area. This article establishes the basic functions and the key strategies of such local export support systems. It also posits that such a support system must be in the form of a strategic alliance. This alliance needs to be organized by local authorities based on local needs. A preliminary survey with a number of local exporters verifies the need for the basic functions to be performed by the strategic alliance for export stimulation. Such strategic alliances do not emerge on their own. It is critical for local governments to help construct such organizations.     

高科技公司制订竞争战略的意义及策略选择

高科技行业中,技术,消费者需求,竞争者行为都存在着快速而不持续的变化。在这样的市场环境中,若要保持长久的竞争优势,应对市场的变化,竞争公司必须积极灵活地应对市场中巨大的战略挑战。高科技行业应根据市场特点,制定有效竞争战略。     

我国第三方物流企业风险与对策浅析

随着物流市场的发展,对物流业的要求也更为规范和严格。第三方物流企业有了新的发展机遇,但是随之而来的物流风险也更为明显化。第三方物流企业在面对风险上就必须更为谨慎。从自身入手,以管理为切入口,针对风险建立一套行之有效的管理对策是十分必要的。     

Universally-enabling and context-binding resources in new venture internationalization: Evidence from venture capital backed start-ups in an emerging market

Integrating institutional and effectuation theories, we examine the relationship between entrepreneurs’ means and internationalization in an emerging market. Results indicate that some means, such as technical expertise or business network membership, transform into valuable internationalization resources despite difficult institutional conditions. Others, however, such as industry or international experience, are best deployed locally. Findings also indicate that means such as entrepreneurial experience and number of founders act as catalysts of internationalization, allowing for other means to transform into internationalization resources. We extend effectuation theory by showing how different means transform into internationalization resources and contribute to research at the intersection of institutional theory and international entrepreneurship by expanding our understanding of universally-enabling and context-binding internationalization resources. In so doing, we identify a boundary condition to international entrepreneurship theories that emphasize the role of individual resources during venture internationalization by revealing a context in which certain traits exhibit nonstandard relationships with internationalization.     

Gibbs and the problems of satisfaction and well-being

This paper responds to a 2004 paper by Paul Gibbs in which he remonstrates that marketing currently has no concern with the notion of well-being; and furthermore that marketing lacks 'an adequate moral grounding'. Gibbs advances the moral expectation that marketers consider not merely satisfying their actual customers, but also consider the well-being of the larger society. However, this paper contemplates whether such an expectation is not due to some confusion by Gibbs between satisfaction and exchange in marketing, and questions whether marketing could pursue such aims.     

Law,politics and the governance of English and Scottish joint-stock companies, 1600–1850

This article examines the impact of law on corporate governance by means of a case study of joint-stock enterprise in England and Scotland before 1850. Based on a dataset of over 450 company constitutions together with qualitative information on governance practice, it finds little evidence to support the hypothesis that common-law regimes such as England were more supportive of economic growth than civil-law jurisdictions such as Scotland: indeed, levels of shareholder protection were slightly stronger in the civil-law zone. Other factors, such as local political institutions, played a bigger role in shaping organisational forms and business practice.