An Empirical Investigation into the Perception of Vehicle Source Effects

Advertising managers, educators and regulators alike have observed the growth of federal programs mandating the form or content of consumer information disclosures. Although this activity often has been warranted, at times these programs may have had unintended “deceptive” effects. Examples might include the USDA's food grading systems, some of the FTC's corrective advertising activities and certain programs of affirmative disclosure of product information (e.g, gasoline octane ratings and the cigarette health warning). To avoid these problems one must give attention to principles learned from communication and attitude research. Further, such programs will benefit greatly from before-after impact evaluation studies to insure that results correspond with objectives.     

Corporate Social Responsibility: An Empirical Investigation of U.S. Organizations

Organizations that believe they should “give something back” to the society have embraced the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR). Although the theoretical underpinnings of CSR have been frequently debated, empirical studies often involve only limited aspects, implying that theory may not be congruent with actual practices and may impede understanding and further development of CSR. The authors investigate actual CSR practices related to five different stakeholder groups, develop an instrument to measure those CSR practices, and apply it to a survey of 401 U.S. organizations. Four different clusters of organizations emerge, depending on the CSR practice focus. The distinctive features of each cluster relate to organizational demographics, perceived influence of stakeholders, managers’ perceptions of the influence of CSR on performance, and organizational performance.     

Factors Affecting Managers' Decision to Bribe: An Empirical Investigation

In recent years, global corporations, especially in the oil and mining sectors, have been speaking the language of development. While corporations are increasingly being imputed a major development role by multilateral organizations, this remains a controversial topic. Even more controversial is the question of whether corporations make a meaningful contribution to development in conflict situations or the absence of democratic government. Some firms, however, such as Talisman Oil, do try to justify their operating in conflict zones such as Sudan on this very basis. This paper contends that Talisman has not contributed to development, but rather is a part of the problem. The paper also develops a more general argument as to why this situation is not particular to Talisman, but is likely to hold for any corporation operating under similar circumstances.     

企业人力资本与企业绩效的实证分析

实证研究了我国上市公司企业人力资本与企业绩效的关系,分析了企业人力资本与企业绩效作用的机理。对不同的行业来说,企业人力资本与企业绩效都具有正相关关系;在同一行业内,拥有高人力资本存量的企业的业绩并不一定优于拥有低人力资本存量的企业业绩,不同的行业有不同的表现。     

企业人力资本与企业绩效的实证分析

实证研究了我国上市公司企业人力资本与企业绩效的关系,分析了企业人力资本与企业绩效作用的机理.对不同的行业来说,企业人力资本与企业绩效都具有正相关关系;在同一行业内,拥有高人力资本存量的企业的业绩并不一定优于拥有低人力资本存量的企业业绩,不同的行业有不同的表现.     

A Preliminary Investigation into the Role of Positive Psychology in Consumer Sensitivity to Corporate Social Performance

Research on positive psychology demonstrates that specific individual dispositions are associated with more desirable outcomes. The relationship of positive psychological constructs, however, has not been applied to the areas of business ethics and social responsibility. Using four constructs in two independent studies (hope and gratitude in Study 1, spirituality and generativity in Study 2), the relationship of these constructs to sensitivity to corporate social performance (CSCSP) were assessed. Results indicate that all four constructs significantly predicted CSCSP, though only hope and gratitude interacted to impact CSCSP. Discussion focuses upon these findings, limitations of the study, and future avenues for research.     

An Empirical Evaluation of the Corporate Strategies of Nigerian Companies

ABSTRACT

As a result of substantial and contemporary changes in the Nigerian business environment, a study was designed to evaluate the corporate strategies used by Nigerian organizations to cope with these changes. Using the survey research methodology of questionnaire on a sample of 1280 corporate executives working in quoted companies in Lagos state of Nigeria, it was found that some aspects of operationalised grand corporate strategies were highly emphasized by Nigerian organizations, while some were not highly emphasized. For example, market penetration strategy was the most emphasized grand corporate strategy, while planned liquidation strategy was the least emphasized strategy. Also, the research revealed that local competition had the highest impact on corporate strategy, while foreign competition posed the least impact on the corporate strategies of Nigerian companies. Nigerian organizations were most effective in achieving profitability objective through their grand corporate strategies, while corporate social responsibility was the least achieved corporate objective via corporate strategies. These findings and their managerial implications were discussed along the salient issues of the research with respect to the research problem, research questions, relevant literature, managerial actions, and Other cognate issues.     

消费者品牌忠诚影响因素实证分析

伴随着激烈的市场竞争,消费者品牌转换行为日趋频繁,迫使企业寻找影响消费者品牌忠诚的关键因素。本文以北京市消费者为研究对象,对消费者品牌忠诚的影响因素进行了实证分析,得出了驱动品牌忠诚的若干因素,以期为企业做出正确的营销决策提供参考。     

Corporate Reputation and Philanthropy: An Empirical Analysis

This paper analyzes the determinants of corporate reputation within a sample of large UK companies drawn from a diverse range of industries. We pay particular attention to the role that philanthropic expenditures and policies may play in shaping the perceptions of companies among their stakeholders. Our findings highlight that companies which make higher levels of philanthropic expenditures have better reputations and that this effect varies significantly across industries. Given that reputational indices tend to reflect the financial performance of organizations above other factors (Fryxell, G. E. and J. Wang: 1994, Journal of Management 20, 1–14) and that elements of the literature emphasise that discretionary aspects of social responsibility, including corporate donations, may not be in the financial interests of organizations (e.g. Friedman, M.: 1970, “The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase its Profits”, New York Times Magazine, September 13), this is a significant finding. It suggests that philanthropic expenditures may play a significant role in stakeholder management and may, in particular, lead to stakeholders holding more positive impressions of philanthropic corporations.     

积极财政政策挤入效应的实证分析

积极财政政策减少民间投资和消费的影响称为挤出效应,因此,把促进民间投资和消费的影响称为挤入效应.本文从综合的角度运用空间计量模型实证检验了我国1998-2011年积极财政政策对民间投资和消费的影响.结果表明,在大部分年份中,积极财政政策对民间投资和消费都产生了显著的挤入效应,但现有财政体制有弱化积极财政政策挤入效应的倾向.本文认为,对财政政策效应的评价应该放到整个体制环境中去,才能做出正确的判断.挤入效应表明我国经济体制改革是朝着市场化方向发展的,但需要不断完善.     

An Empirical Investigation of the Influence of Selected Personal, Organizational and Moral Intensity Factors on Ethical Decision Making

This exploratory study of ethical decision making by individuals in organizations found moral intensity, as defined by Jones (1991), to significantly influence ethical decision making intentions of managers. Moral intensity explained 37% and 53% of the variance in ethical decision making in two decision-making scenarios. In part, the results of this research support our theoretical understanding of ethical/unethical decision-making and serve as a foundation for future research.     

中国企业生命周期阶段划分及其度量研究

运用财务综合指标法、现金流分类组合法和销售与资本支出曲线趋势变化法,对近年来中国A股上市公司的生命周期进行定量划分。采用第一种方法和第三种方法得出的结果,注重企业财务指标及发展演进时间序列的具体表现,采用的第二种方法则强调划分依据的真实性与所反映企业信息的准确性;通过比较近年来中国市场上基金产品选股与本文的划分结果,发现成长型或价值型的股票基金产品年度持股与三种方法下划分的结果比较吻合,从而验证了三种方法的合理性及可应用性。     

农村居民休闲活动参与的影响因素研究

随着社会的发展,农民居民的休闲意识逐步加强,越来越多的人参与休闲活动。本文首次采用CGSS2006微观调查数据对影响农村居民休闲活动参与的因素进行了实证研究,研究发现:农村居民的受教育年限、收入以及幸福感对于休闲活动的参与存在促进作用,年龄和婚姻对休闲活动的参与存在阻碍作用。     

An Inquiry into the Study of Corporate Codes of Ethics

This paper takes its point of departure in an article by Stevens [Stevens, B.: 1994, Journal of Business Ethics 54, 163–171], in which she identified a lack of knowledge regarding how corporate codes of ethics are communicated and affect behavior in organizations. Taking heed of this suggested gap, we review studies on corporate codes of ethics with an empirical content, published since 1994. The conclusion of the review is that we still lack knowledge on how codes work, how they are communicated and how they are transformed inside organizations. Stevens’ plea could even be extended, arguing that the knowledge gap might be of even more significance than in the mid-1990s. Some directions for how this situation can be approached in future studies are outlined in the paper.     

Impact of Personal and Situational Factors on Taxpayer Compliance: An Experimental Analysis

This study used a laboratory experiment with monetary incentives to test the impact of three personal factors (moral reasoning, value orientation and risk preference), and three situational factors (the presence/absence of audits, tax inequity, and peer reporting behavior), while controlling for the impact of other demographic characteristics, on tax compliance. Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) reveals that all the main effects analyzed are statistically significant and robustly influence tax compliance behavior. These results highlight the importance of obtaining a proper understanding of these factors for developing effective policies for increasing the level of compliance, and indicate that standard enforcement polices based on punishment alone should be supplemented by an information system that would acquaint tax payers with the compliance level of other tax payers; reinforce the concept of fairness of the tax system among tax payers; and develop programs that enhance and appeal to a taxpayer's moral conscience and reinforce social cohesion.     

An Empirical Investigation of Trade Credit Demand

This paper investigates the motivations for a firm's demand for trade credit. Demand for credit is modelled as a function of transaction costs motivations, financing motivations, operational considerations, seller compliance issues and supplier marketing, whilst controlling for the firm's business environment and for firm characteristics such as size and industry. This paper builds on previous studies by considering a wider range of factors that can affect trade credit demand holistically on a single sample. It appears that the use of trade credit is widespread, and that it is generally perceived as an important short term financing option, although the availability of trade credit is not a major influence on supplier choice. The level of a firm's trade credit demand is found to be significantly influenced by transaction costs, financing, operational issues, marketing activities by suppliers, the firm's investment in trade debtors and firm size.     

An Empirical Investigation of Japanese Consumer Ethics

One of the gaps in the current international marketing literature is in the area of consumer ethics. Using a sample drawn from Japanese consumers, this study investigates these individuals' reported ethical ideology and their perception of a number of different ethical situations in the realm of consumer behavior. Comparisons are then made across several demographic characteristics. The results reveal differences which provide theoretical support for expanded research in the area of cross-cultural/cross-national consumer ethics and highlight the need for managers to consider possible differences in the ethical behavior of consumers when entering a new international market. In addition, this study extends current knowledge in international marketing ethics by utilizing a research design and survey instruments similar to previous studies on consumer ethics.     

An Empirical Investigation of Composite Product Choice

Prior ingredient branding research has examined the influence of “stated” factors such as fit between partner brands on composite product (e.g., Tide with Downy fabric softener) attitudes. This research focuses on choice of composite products, and addresses three managerially relevant questions: Which consumer segments are more likely to adopt the composite product? Will the choice of the composite product have positive or negative reciprocal effects on partner brands? Will the introduction of the composite product benefit the primary or the secondary brand more? The authors use a brand choice model to investigate the “revealed” choice of complements-based composite products. Study results indicate that (i) despite high fit between the composite product and the primary brand, consumer segments may have different choice likelihoods for these products, whereas prior research suggests equal likelihood; (ii) the choice of a composite product may not provide a positive reciprocal effect to the secondary brand; and (iii) the introduction of a composite product may benefit the primary brand more than the secondary brand, whereas prior research suggests a symmetrical benefit for the partner brands. Finally, the finding that introducing a composite product may not cannibalize the sale of the primary brand extends the ingredient branding literature, which has been silent on this issue.