Understanding unethical retail disposition practice and restraint from the consumer perspective

This research expands marketing's knowledge regarding unethical retail disposition (URD). URD is a type of consumer fraud, whereby consumers purchase an item of merchandise with the intent of using it and returning it to a retailer for a refund. The authors first employ grounded theory methodology to develop an original framework illustrating why consumers engage in either URD participation or restraint; next, they demonstrate empirical support for the framework. The authors support and augment previous URD research by reporting that URD offenders employ eight neutralization techniques to remedy personal guilt associated with committing the fraudulent behavior. This research also takes a novel approach by illustrating that consumers describe six motivations underlying URD restraint. Most concerning for retailers is that four of the six reasons for restraint are tenuous. Thus, consumers who refrain from URD may be easily swayed to participate in this illicit behavior. The authors posit that URD may represent a means by which consumers express disdain and mistrust for contemporary retailers, contributing to the societal discrimination that retail organizations owned by “middlemen minorities” engaged in trade and commerce often experience. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The relationship between importance of retail store attributes and lifestyle of mature female consumers

Mature female consumers are an affluent market segment often ignored by retailers. This study examines the relationship between importance of selected store attributes (such as location and price) and lifestyle characteristics. The results indicate that certain lifestyle characteristics are related to the importance placed on store attributes.     

Associations between demographics and perceptions of unethical consumer behaviour

Retailers may lose profits as a result of shoplifting and other unethical consumer behaviour. Research focusing on consumer ethical decision making is needed. Information provided by 1117 undergraduate students from universities within the US revealed that women are less accepting of unethical consumer behaviour than men. Subjects who reported that they very consistently follow the teachings of their primary faith are less accepting of unethical consumer behaviour than subjects who reported that they do not very consistently follow the teachings of their primary faith. Relationships between consumer ethical response scores and other demographic characteristics are discussed.     

The institutionalization of unethical behavior

There is a possibility that the ethical problems that have recently surfaced at General Electric, E. F. Hutton and General Dynamics are not simple anomalies, but the direct result of corporate pressures on individual managers. The author looks at the nature of these pressures, which come from the strategic planning systems in use at most large corporations, and concludes that the current emphasis upon improvements in competitive positioning have led many managers to take actions that are directly contrary to the moral standards, either explicit or implied, of their organizations. LaRue Hosmer is Professor of Policy and Control at the Graduate School of Business Administration of the University of Michigan. He was the founder and president of a company that manufactured heavy equipment for sawmills and papermills. He has been teaching Business Policy, Small Business Management and Entrepreneurship at The University of Michigan since 1972, with visiting appointments during that period at Stanford and Yale. His research interests are in managerial ethics, corporate responsibility and strategic implementation. He is the co-author of The Entrepreneurial Function (Prentice-Hall, 1977) and the author of Strategic Management: Text and Cases on Business Policy (Prentice-Hall, 1982), Formation Planning (McGraw-Hill, 1984), Managerial Ethics (in press) and Making Strategy Work (in press).     

中国ICS与社会消费品零售指数关系实证分析

消费者信心指数(ICS)是综合反映并量化消费者对当前经济形势评价和对经济前景、收入水平、收入预期以及消费心理状态的重要指标.ICS的变动对社会消费品零售指数产生重要的影响.文章运用回归分析和GM(1,1)模型研究分析了中国ICS与社会消费品零售指数的关系,并据此分别对ICS与社会消费品零售指数进行了预测.     

Despite unethical retail store practices,consumers at the bottom of the pyramid continue to be loyal

Research in the area of retail store loyalty agrees that consumers reward retailers when they are satisfied with its products, services, and its image. Moreover, one would agree that if the retailer engages in unethical practices, the customer would quickly defect and even engage in word of mouth to influence others to defect. But this might not be the case universally. One consumer group that continues to be loyal to a retailer despite widespread unethical practices is the poor. A growing stream of research under the label of bottom of pyramid (BoP) and subsistence consumers has increasingly pointed out the market attractiveness of this segment to multinational companies. These poor consumers are individuals who earn approximately $2 per day. In this paper, we explain the nature of widespread unethical retail practices prevalent amongst the neighborhood retail stores (or kirana as they are referred to in India) that serve the BoP consumer, types of patronage behaviors, and the reasons ‘why’ these consumers continue to support the kirana store. The data for this paper comes from a qualitative study conducted with 58 urban poor consumers in India. This study carries significant implications for both domestic and multinational companies that market fast-moving consumer goods in the BoP market.     

Conflicts between entrepreneurs and investors: the impact of perceived unethical behavior

This paper examines the impact of perceived unethical behavior by entrepreneurs, angel investors and venture capitalists on their conflict process. For this purpose, we use an embedded case study design to provide a diversity of perspectives on the topic at hand. From the eye of the beholder, i.e. investor, entrepreneur or both, 11 conflict situations were analyzed for any perceived unethical behavior. Based on findings from within- and cross-case analysis, we propose that perceived unethical behavior among venture partners triggers conflicts between them through increased fault attribution or blaming. Further, we propose that perceived unethical behavior affects venture partners’ choice of conflict management strategy and increases the likelihood of conflict escalation and of conflict having a negative partnership outcome such as failure or another form of involuntary exit. As such, this paper contributes to the entrepreneurship literature by addressing calls for more research on the darker sides of investor–investee relationships.     

对价值和价格关系的解读

在资产评估中经常接触价值和价格两个概念,笔者结合工作实际和所学理论进行阐述两者关系和市场特征.     

The relationship between CMEA and EC

In early 1970 responsibility for the conclusion of trade agreements was transferred from the individual member states to the EC. Since then the EC has been recognized throughout the world as a contractual partner in its own right within this area. Only the Soviet Union and the CMEA are being difficult accepting these changes in responsibility since 1970. This means that in trade between the EC countries and the state trade countries there exists at present a situation without treaties. Where do the problems lie? What models offer themselves for overcoming this situation?     

中外资零售企业盈利模式比较

我国的零售企业与国外的零售企业相比存在着差距与不足,本文通过对中外资零售企业盈利模式的比较分析,找出两者之间存在的差异,并提出了改进我国零售业盈利模式的建议.     

浅谈企业会计与企业之间的关系

企业与企业会计的关系密切.企业会计在企业的经营活动中起着重要的作用.企业会计为企业的内部管理提供资源数据信息,为企业的进一步经济发展做出预算与估计;企业会计所反应的财务信息准确性与可靠性直接影响企业的财务关系和投资计划等等.企业会计的工作质量对企业的经济活动与企业的发展有着方方面面的影响.因此企业要做好会计控制.     

The unethical exploitation of shareholders in management buyout transactions

The accurate pricing of securities in the capital markets depends upon the markets being both efficient and fair. In management buyout transactions (MBOs), the price bid by inside managers enhances the efficient pricing of securities but raises a reasonable doubt about the fairness to existing shareholders. This study addresses this fairness question in MBOs and offers short-term and long-term legal alternatives which allow both the efficiency and fairness criteria to be met. In the short-term the case law established in the Basic v. Levinson decision for merger negotiation disclosures should be applied to MBO transactions. Over the longer horizon, legislative changes should be made to existing securities laws. Applying the investor protection principles of the 1933 and 1934 securities acts to MBO transactions will suppress the temptation of managers to extract shareholder wealth for their personal gain. Frederick P. Schadler, Assistant Professor of Finance at East Carolina University, in Greenville, North Carolina. Research interests include security issuances, investment banking, and ethical issues related to securities regulation. He has presented papers at regional and national meetings and has published in the Journal of Financial and Strategic Decisions and the Memphis State University Law Review. Jack E. Karns, an Associate Professor of Business Law at East Carolina University. Research is directed toward corporate law, securities, and government regulation of business issues including ethical considerations. He has published in numerous legal journals including the Dickinson, University of Richmond, and Memphis State University Law Reviews.     

The Relationship between marketing performance,logistics performance and company performance for retail companies

Abstract

The objective of this research is to demonstrate the importance of logistics and marketing to overall company performance. The focus is on the relationship between logistics and marketing, because, in the intra-organisational context, the different perspectives of these two functions can lead to conflict between short-term objectives. Consequently, effective coordination between these two organisational units, not only at an intra-organisational, but also at an inter-organisational level, is extremely important. The theoretical assumptions are tested empirically through an investigation of the retailing industry.     

论风水学与建筑学的关系

传说中的"风水"在我国建筑选址规划中几乎无所不在,这种古老的学说虽然充满着迷信色彩,但它具有我国古代哲学、美学、地质、地理生态、景观诸多方面丰富的内涵,是中国传统文化的重要组成部分.风水理论是地理学、气象学、景观学、生态学、城市建筑学等一种综合的自然科学,是以"自然、平衡、和谐"的原理来考察环境对人的影响.近年来房地产热潮,建筑风水学的应用逐渐兴起通过研究对象与方位的关系更多了解人与自然合一的基本易学思想,正确把握人与自然基本运动规律.     

The relationship between job dissatisfaction and training transfer

The high rates of training transfer failure that prevail still puzzle practitioners as well as researchers. The central aim of the present study is to analyze the relatively under‐researched role of job dissatisfaction in the training transfer process. Specifically, we expect that job dissatisfaction would have a negative effect on transfer but that this effect would be buffered by the expectation of positive transfer consequences and motivation to transfer. To test these hypotheses, 220 participants in different training programs completed an online questionnaire 1 year after training. The results support our assumptions. They reveal that job dissatisfaction has a detrimental effect on training transfer, but that motivation to transfer and the expectation of positive transfer consequences have a buffering effect. The more motivated a person is towards transfer, the less negative is the effect of job dissatisfaction on actual transfer, but only if a person expects positive outcomes from transfer, such as acknowledgment or rewards. The findings are discussed in relation to existing training transfer models, as well as models of job (dis)satisfaction.     

The relationship between firm growth and labor demand

Gibrat's Law is tested on a sample of Italian firms. The results are similar to those recently obtained on various sets of U.S. data and confirm that departures from Gibrat's Law are modest, also when firms' age is accounted for.     

论风水学与建筑学的关系

传说中的"风水"在我国建筑选址规划中几乎无所不在,这种古老的学说虽然充满着迷信色彩,但它具有我国古代哲学、美学、地质、地理生态、景观诸多方面丰富的内涵,是中国传统文化的重要组成部分.风水理论是地理学、气象学、景观学、生态学、城市建筑学等一种综合的自然科学,是以"自然、平衡、和谐"的原理来考察环境对人的影响.近年来房地产热潮,建筑风水学的应用逐渐兴起,通过研究卦象与方位的关系更多了解人与自然合一的基本易学思想,正确把握人与自然基本运动规律.     

企业税务会计与财务会计的关系分析

阐述了税务会计的基本前提及一般原则,探讨了税务会计与财务会计的区别与联系,指出税务会计脱离财务会计而独立有利于会计准则向国际惯例靠拢,有利于财务会计的规范化,也有利于保证税法的科学性和严肃性,对丰富会计理论和方法,完善会计科学体系也有很重要的意义.     

浅论建筑安全与经济的关系

在建筑工程施工中事故发生带来的经济损失,造成的社会影响,是我们大家有目共睹的,同时伤亡和损失也是无法逆转的.这些事故的发生主要存在于人的不安全行为、物的不安全状态、以及管理上的缺陷.从经济学的角度来看安全生产与经济效益的关系,由经济角度的分析得出结论是加大对建筑安全产业的教育培训.     

The relationship between Internet addiction and negative eWOM

Customers prevalently use social media (SM) to post their experiences and to review others’ experiences. This study investigated how Internet addiction (IA) influenced customers’ word-of-mouth behaviors on SM after a service failure, focusing on both young and older customers. Two experiments were conducted. The first study was conducted with young customers and second experiment with older customers. Results suggest that the group of young customers had significantly higher levels of IA, compared to older customers. The analysis identified that IA and functional/technical service failure partially influenced four negative types of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) (i.e. Badmouthing, Tattling, Spite, and Feeding the Vultures). Both young and older customers tended to show more negative eWOM types for technical service failures. For the functional service failures, IA was the main predictor of negative eWOM for both young and older customers.