Determinants of retail bank choice in Nigeria: a focus on gender-based choice decisions

As the Nigerian retail banks customers become more sophisticated, it is now very important that retail banks determine the factors that are important and relevant to the customers’ retail bank choice decisions. By using a survey of retail bank customers, this study evaluates the relative importance attached to retail banks’ choice criteria used by male and female customers in Nigeria. The results show that there are some differences in choice factors used by male and female customers in selecting a retail bank for patronage. The recommendation is that bank managers should take both female and male market segments into consideration when making retail bank strategic planning in order to become competitive. The findings can assist retail bank managers in refining their marketing strategies as a means of overcoming the intense competition that exists in the Nigerian banking system.     

新型技术在现代食品工业中的应用

通过介绍不同新型技术的原理，探讨其在不同食品生产中的应用。     

Determinants and adequacy of food consumption of children in La Trinidad,the Philippines

In the Philippines, vitamin A and vitamin C deficiencies, particularly among children, is a pressing health problem. This article reports the results of a research project that aimed at gaining insight into the factors in the household context that influence food intake of children and the role these factors play in vitamin A and vitamin C deficiencies. The research was carried out in La Trinidad, an urban area in the Philippines, where sufficient nutritious foods proved to be available. The results show that household income has only a minor impact on nutritional status. The nutritional status of children seems to be primarily influenced by their food preferences and the level of parental control on their food intake.     

A conceptual framework for healthy food choice in full-service restaurant

The reasons for people’s food choices are complex and result from the interplay of several influences throughout various contexts. Although research has found that various factors influence people’s food choices, investigators have not considered the diverse elements affecting the methods or the procedures that people employ for selecting healthy foods in the context of full-service restaurants. Therefore, the current study was conducted to better comprehend family or casual dining consumers’ choices in relation to healthy eating behaviors. This qualitative study purposefully sampled three focus group interviews with three different types of participants (mature, nonmature, and chef/manager) to identify important factors that can encourage people to buy or eat healthy foods when dining at full-service restaurants. Content analysis of 16 interviews revealed three levels of healthy food choice factors that affect customers who want to enjoy healthy foods in full-service restaurants.     

Educating young consumers – a food choice model

It has been acknowledged that it is only by obtaining a more detailed understanding of food choice that people’s diets can be improved. In Northern Ireland, research into food choice has been limited yet the Province has the second highest rate of heart disease in the world, indicating the need for change. This study investigated the food choices of 9‐ to 17‐year‐olds in Northern Ireland and the influential factors. A range of research techniques were employed incorporating both qualitative and quantitative methods, namely observations, focus groups, picture associations, dietary case studies and questionnaires. The research indicated that the dietary patterns adopted by this group are characterized by a high consumption of fat, yet the reduction of fat tends to dominate the overall strategy for the prevention of obesity and lowering the risk of coronary heart disease. In addition, a high consumption of sugar products was evidenced along with a distinct dislike for healthier alternatives such as fruit and vegetables. The ‘skipping’ of meals, especially breakfast and a high prevalence of snacking was also apparent. However, these eating habits were found to be affected by various factors such as age and gender, emphasizing the complex nature of food choice. The findings from this research enabled the development of a model relating to the food choices of 9‐ to 17‐year‐olds in Northern Ireland, highlighting the influential factors and subsequent health implications.     

Barriers to the advancement of modern food retail formats: theory and measurement

The recent expansion of global food retailers into emerging economies has made the study of food retail modernization especially relevant at this time. We present a framework to analyze limitations to market share growth of retail formats based on diffusion across consumer segments and by product category. We then propose a measurement approach, based on consumer surveys, that quantifies the impact of these processes on supermarket market share. Food retail modernization is then examined in Hong Kong by this approach for two points in time. In a 1995 diagnostic study, we find that geographic and economic segment diffusion of supermarkets is complete, but that product category-dependent diffusion (specifically perishables) is not. The latter, thereby, becomes the major restriction on supermarket share gain. In 1999, a second study measures the impact of the introduction of superstores, a large modern format, on the perishable restriction to modern format share growth. Consumers perceived superstore perishables to be superior to supermarkets’, but these views had little impact on the ability of modern format to wrest additional share from traditional markets. We discuss diagnostic and monitoring applications, and extensions of the approach to other retail contexts.     

本刊开设新专栏啦打造营养与美食的饕餮盛宴

从2013年8月开始,《现代营销·创富信息版》将与同际名厨万龙（Albert Wan）先生合作,在本刊每期彩色版面开设专门的“名厨专栏”与大家共享专业级完美烹饪之分享体验,全方位的感受名厨的魅力。     

The contribution of home economics teaching to nutrition knowledge and food choice among adolescents

The diets of two groups of adolescent schoolchildren living in Lothian were assessed. Children who studied Home Economics at Standard Grade were compared with those who did not. A short questionnaire and a dietary diary were used to establish nutrition knowledge and food choice over a period of 7 days, allowing comparisons to be drawn between students who study Home Economics and those who do not. Nutrition knowledge was better among those studying Home Economics. Eating patterns among those studying Home Economics followed more closely the recommended percentages of dietary energy derived from protein, fat and carbohydrate, but there was also considerable evidence that those studying Home Economics tended to eat less generally and to have lower intakes of micronutrients, such as calcium, iron and folic acid. Possible reasons for the differences in nutrition knowledge and eating habits are discussed, with some indicators for future work in this area.     

Determinants of Investment Strategies in the Trust-Fund Market

With expanding retail markets for the delivery of fi- nancial services, service prov~ders in investment markets that were previously accustomed to interacting only with institutional counter- parts are today increasingly meeting individual consumers. In this article, the authors develop and val~date a discriminant model that provides basic empirical profiles of investors engaged in the more- or-less risky process of self-allocating investment dollars. Results contribute to an understanding of invcstor perceptions of risk, shed- ding ligh~ on the role of traditional socio-economic market segmcn- tation variables. The article also enhances our understanding of the cfrects of goal setting, loss tolerance, and perceived risk on selection of the "ideal" investment strategy.     

Determinants of Inflation Expectations in the Euro Area

Euro area inflation has been rising strongly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, giving rise to concerns that there could be second-round effects, with higher inflation leading to higher inflation expectations, which in turn lead to higher inflation. This could result in more persistent rises in inflation.

     

Estimation bias in choice models with last choice feedback

The study compares two estimation methods for choice models with last choice feedback, using simulated and real data. The first method ignores the impact of unobserved heterogeneity on observed choices via presample choices, while the second method approximates this impact by a stochastic relationship. In panels with less than 10 choices per panelist, the first method overstates the impact of last choice on current choice and understates the impact of intrinsic preferences (i.e., brand intercepts). The second method performs significantly better than the first method. Under both methods, an increase in the number of heterogeneous coefficients in the model tends to increase the bias in the estimates. The largest bias occurs when lagged choice coefficients are heterogeneous.     

Determinants of Innovation

The study examines how firm size, market structure, profitability and growth influence innovative activity in small to medium sized Australian manufacturing businesses, using the recently released Confidentialised Unit Record File drawn from the Business Longitudinal Survey of the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Regression analysis is conducted to determine the factors that effect subsequent innovative activity for the full sample of businesses, as well as for sub-samples of firms from high and low-technological opportunity industries. Most variables, including size, R&D intensity, market structure and trade shares are found to be conducive to further innovative activity for the full sample and for high-tech firms. For low-tech industries, fewer variables are significant.     

Determinants of Poland's Competitive Advantage in the Logistics Sector

Abstract

This paper discusses the transformation within the distribution and logistics sector in Poland. The privatization process and business growth, in conjunction with foreign direct investment, have created a very competitive environment. A modified version of Porter's determinants of the competitive advantage model is used to illustrate changes in this industry. Models are presented depicting business logistics in Poland before and after the transformation. Twelve firms operating in this sector were studied. Problems and opportunities are discussed as they relate to business logistics in Poland. Eventual membership in the European Union will further expand markets, as well as modernize Poland's infrastructure and business logistics systems.     

Determinants of the entrepreneurial gender gap in Latin America

This paper identifies a set of factors associated with the decision to become an entrepreneur and the variables that account for the gender gap in entrepreneurial activity in Latin America. We estimate logit models for entrepreneurial activity under three different definitions of an entrepreneur. We also estimate the gender gap by using Fairlie’s decomposition method. Depending on the definition of entrepreneur used, the overall gender gap varies from 4 to 13 % points. Differences in observable characteristics explain between 23 and 38 % of the total gender gap. The factors that explain both entrepreneurial activity and gender gap are: education, risk tolerance; own car as primary means of transportation; work satisfaction; and parent business ownership. Variables such as age, access to loans, and need for achievement are significantly associated with entrepreneurial activity, but they play a negligible role in explaining the gender gap.     

我国工业R&D投入的决定因素

本文计量分析了我国工业R&D投入的决定因素.通过比较整个工业、内资工业和国有工业及其高科技和一般工业分组的回归结果,我们发现:在整个工业,盈利能力、要素禀赋、技术机会和市场竞争对R&D投入增加有显著的促进作用,外资活动有一定的抑制作用.从行业分组来看,外资活动抑制作用集中在一般工业部门,在高科技部门则有促进作用;内资高科技工业R&D投入增加的决定因素是技术机会和盈利能力,但不包括要素禀赋.内资一般工业的决定因素是技术机会和要素禀赋;政府资金带动我国工业R&D投入增长的效果不明显;外资活动对内资工业自主R&D投入增加的作用不明显.     

Determinants of Venture Performance in Singapore

Based on a survey of Singapore venture capital (VC)-backed firms, we find that environment, resource-based capabilities, strategy, and VC firms' involvement affect the venture performance significantly. The environment is a major constraint within which a firm's strategy is developed. While managers formulate and implement strategies, these strategies do not determine the eventual success directly. The strategy formulated should be complemented by a firm's resource-based capabilities. Firms that do not match their strategy and resources could lead to unfocused and unproductive efforts. Evidence shows that the "fit" between resource-based capabilities and strategy partially affects the venture performance. Our study provides implications for both venture capitalists and entrepreneurs in finding the right partner and in cooperating with each other.     

Determinants of self-employment survival in Europe

This paper investigates the determinants of self-employment survival in Europe in two stages. The first one focuses on the effect of variables at the individual level, while the second raises questions regarding specific regional factors through the introduction of macro variables. In conducting this analysis, discrete choice models, including both single and competing risks frameworks, are applied to data drawn from the European Community Household Panel from 1994 to 2001. Different destination states are considered: paid employment, unemployment and inactivity. This allows us to search for the underlying determinants of these different hazards. The results suggest a positive impact on survival of formal education and previous experience within the labour market. In addition, we find that entering self-employment from unemployment has a strong negative effect on survival within self-employment. However, our results also show that the expenditure on start-up subsidies decreases the risk of exiting self-employment specifically for the group of individuals entering self-employment from unemployment. Therefore, the availability of these incentives might be seen by policymakers as not only a route to increase entry into self-employment, but also as an adequate instrument for equalising survival chances across individuals entering self-employment from unemployment and those entering with a different starting status.     

Determinants of entrepreneurial activities in China

The institutional environment – including protection of private properties and contract enforcement – has been rather unfavorable for the emergence and development of China's private enterprises. This is in sharp contrast to the case of the developed economies where the institutional environment is conductive to the entrepreneurial activities and only the personal attributes of would-be entrepreneurs determine their entrepreneurship decision. We thus propose a theoretical framework for the entrepreneurship decision in China with a focus on the role of the institutional environment. Using a life-histories survey data of 2854 respondents from twenty cities in China, we find strong support for the impacts of the institutional environment and its interactions with other determinants of entrepreneurship decision.