The merchants of meta: A research agenda to understand the future of retailing in the metaverse

Due to rapid technological developments, the metaverse is quickly garnering attention from all areas of retailing. With a projected market of $800 billion by 2024, the metaverse is expected to radically reshape retailing in the digital world. However, very little is known about the metaverse from a customer, retailer, or brand perspective.This article summarizes how the metaverse has been conceptualized thus far in the literature and the popular press. The authors offer a new conceptualization of the metaverse that contains four distinct dimensions: online collaboration, high consumer immersion, unique digital assets, and digital personas.Considering that the technologies currently used to provide high consumer immersion (e.g., augmented reality, virtual reality) and unique digital assets (e.g., blockchain technology) are not fully developed or commercialized, the authors also propose the concept of a transitory metaverse to understand the current stage of metaverse development better.The authors conclude by providing 27 directions for future research based on a full factorial of how the metaverse dimensions amplify three customer touchpoints in the digital experience (digital economic exchange, complex social relationships, direct environment interaction) for the three main stakeholders of any retailing exchange (consumers, retailers, brands) along the entire customer journey (pre-purchase, purchase, post-purchase).     

The Global Market for Power Tools

The global demand for power tools rose from $19.0 billion in 1999 to $22.8 billion by 2004 and is expected to increase to $29.2 billion in 2009. The annual rate of growth was 3.7 percent during 1999-2004; the projected rate during 2004-2009 is 5.0 percent. This reflects accelerating growth in developing regions, with the most promising opportunities occurring in Latin America, Africa/Mid-East, and Asia-Pacific. Electric tools (plug-in and cordless) dominate world demand, comprising three-fourth of shipments in 2004. Commercial users accounted for 70 percent and households for 30 percent of total sales, a ratio that should prevail during the coming years. North America accounted for 40 percent of total demand but for only 30 percent of production, as U.S. firms shifted operations to countries with lower wages. While hundreds of companies offer power tools, only a few firms hold significant market share. The leaders are Black and Decker (United States), Bosch (Germany), TechTronic (Hong- Kong), Makita (Japan), and Hitachi (Japan); together they accounted for 37 percent of global sales in 2004. JEL Classification L640     

Disclosures Exposed: Banner Ad Disclosure Adherence to FTC Guidance in the Top 100 U.S. Web Sites

With banner ads accounting for one‐fifth of the $16.4 billion spent on Internet advertising in 2006, this advertising format has become an integral marketing communications tool. Inclusion of required disclosure language and presenting those disclosures in a clear and conspicuous manner are important areas of regulatory interest and in recent years have extended to the online environment. This study examines the extent to which disclosures in banner ads in the top 100 U.S. Web sites adhere to Federal Trade Commission guidance in these two areas. Additionally, this study compares the banner ad results for clear and conspicuous presentation to those of a prior study that examined television advertising. All the banner ads in the study contained at least one disclosure; yet, adherence was mixed in terms of providing all the required information clearly and conspicuously. Implications of these results are discussed.     

Shorter Papers Automobile Quotas Revisited: The Costs of Continued Protection

This paper examines the loss to the U. S. economy and consumers from the third year of the Voluntary Export Restraint (VER) for Japanese automobiles. Losses due to product differentiation were estimated separately for the domestic car market and Japanese car market. Consideration was given to profit taking as well as product upgrading. The welfare loss ranged from $1.8 billion to $2.8 billion which is higher than loss estimates reported for the first year of the VER. The higher welfare loss reflects the impact of improved economic conditions which resulted in higher prices for manufacturers and dealers and the emergence of product upgrading due to quantity restraints. The total loss to consumers ranged from $2.6 billion to $5.3 billion with more than 80 percent of the loss representing transfers from consumers to producers (domestic and foreign). The high cost of the VER has not been offset by employment gains since Detroit responded to the VER by making fewer cars and increasing its reliance on off - shore production.     

“网格”商用时代的来临

大到航天飞机,小到一粒药丸,人们的日常工作和生活越来越离不开这些经过超强数据处理的产品,而超级计算机高昂的价格显然阻止了它进入普通人的工作领域。于是,人们开始寻找一种造价低廉而处理能力超强的计算模式,它真实存在,那就是——网格计算     

China's Approval Regime on Outbound Investment-Overview on the First Chinese Judgment Recognized and Enforced by the United States Courts

On February 26, 2010, the Ministry of Commerce of China ("MOFCOM") issued the Guiding Opinions on 2010 Outbound Investment and Coo-peration indicating that non-financial outbound direct investment amount increased by 6.5% from US S$40.7 billionin 2008 to US $43.3 billion in 2009.     

Global TV ad trends

Global television advertising expenditure totalled US$125 billion in 2000. This represents 40% of total global adspend (US$315 billion). Between 1988 and 2000, TV adspend grew faster than other forms of major media advertising. However in 2001 the medium suffered its steepest recorded decline. A recovery in 2002 in the US, the world's largest TV ad market, is expected.     

Refractory Materials: The Global Market,The Global Industry

World demand for refractory products—heat-resisting ceramic materials used in metal refining, glass making, and other high-temperature industrial applications—will be slowing down considerably from an annual rate of 10.8 percent during 2002–07 to 3.5 percent during 2007–12. Such slower growth reflects many factors, but is due primarily to: unsettled economic conditions; better efficiencies in steelmaking (which accounts for about half of all end uses of refractories); and the preference of end-users for maintenance rather than new facilities. The four key markets or end uses for refractory materials are: iron and steelmaking; other metal-making; nonmetallic materials such as glass; and an all-other category. In 2007, world refractory demand was 38.1 million metric tons valued at $22.9 billion; the corresponding figures for 2012 are projected at about 45.2 million metric tons valued at $28.5 billion. The Asia-Pacific region accounted for about 45 percent of total weight in 2007; its share by 2012 should rise to about 69 percent, with China becoming the dominant producer and consumer of refractory materials.     

The Gaps in Retail Human Resource Management:

Human resource management is a critical determinant of retail organizational performance and profitability. It is estimated that the retail turnover currently is costing the industry $7.7 billion. If the current trends continue in constant dollars, this figure will be $9.2 billion in the year 2010. In current dollars this estimate will go up to $16.02 billion. Good human resource management can reduce this amount significantly. Despite its importance, retail human resource management remains a largely neglected area. Buildings on a basic model of the human resource management process, this paper provides a brief review of key personell issues, followed by a suggested research agenda. It is maintained that human resource management in the retailing sector has many major gaps. Eliminating these gaps by improving the overall human resource management activity in retailing will yield total quality management (TQM) in retailing and will enhance the retail competitive advantage. Additionally, there will be significant contribution to the overall performance of the total marketing channel.     

纺织品出口壁垒在前

中国纺织品进入"自由贸易"时代,但出口壁垒并未消除。企业对此所持的理性态度,反映出了整个行业的成熟。     

Paid search: The innovation that changed the Web

Search engines are key to the operation of the World Wide Web. This centrality, however, presents challenges: search engine providers face the problem of revenue generation when users expect free content, while advertisers need to attract the interest of searchers. The innovation that effectively addresses these challenges is the use of text advertisements based upon search topic, known as paid search. The method entails advertisers competing for top listing position through bidding in ongoing auctions and then paying when users click on their advertisements, making paid search a flexible and accountable form of advertising. Since its introduction in 1998, paid search has become the dominant form of online advertising and led to Google's $140 billion market capitalization in 2006. This article analyzes the emergence of paid search and the mechanics of its operation, and offers managers guidance on its effective usage.     

Valuation uncertainty,home and host market uncertainty,and cross-border seasoned equity offerings

This study examines how market timing can affect host market reaction to cross-border seasoned equity offerings (SEOs), an event generally viewed unfavorably by investors. We assume that firms engage in market timing in response to valuation uncertainty (VU), home market uncertainty (HMU) and/or host market uncertainty (HSU), and that raising capital abroad faces higher scrutiny costs and familiarity bias from host market investors. We conjecture that timing strategies provide signals that vary in strength to host market investors and that dual-timing strategies may strengthen an existing signal. Our hypotheses are tested on a sample of 190 cross-border SEOs that were issued on the U.S. stock market between 1990 and 2017 by firms from 29 countries. Using event study methodology, we find that market timing based on VU is negatively related to host market valuation and that a dual-timing strategy with HMU or HSU generally produces a stronger signal. Our results have practical relevance for stock markets that suffer from high uncertainty; we estimate that a high VU firm with a $1 billion valuation suffers a drop of $31.3 million in market valuation during a high host market uncertainty (high HSU) compared with low host market uncertainty (low HSU).     

美国对外贸易的理念和货物贸易的基本格局

自由贸易是美国对外贸易的基本理念。贸易自由化是战后美国对外贸易政策的基本特征,原因在于贸易自由化每年给美国带来1万亿美元左右的收益。对美国货物贸易的基本格局可以从五个方面认识:美国是世界上进出口规模最大的国家;美国进口规模比出口规模对世界经济的影响更大;美国是世界上最大的贸易逆差国,享受了世界最多的物质财富;美国贸易条件的变动表明对外贸易格局有利于美国;美国进口规模扩大与产业结构升级的结合演变为美国结构性增长优势。     

The employer costs of motor vehicle crashes

The latest published estimate of the cost of US motor vehicle crashes to employers is for 1989. This study estimates annual employer costs in 1998-2000. Incidence was estimated with occupational injury data and motor vehicle crash data for 1998-2000. Employer costs were estimated from Federal estimates of crash costs by source of payment using data on the percentage of varied payment streams (e.g. health insurance, sick leave) paid by employers. Motor vehicle crash injuries on and off the job cost employers almost $60 billion annually, including $16.3 billion in fringe benefit costs; $25.2 billion in property damage, workplace disruption and other non-fringe costs; and $18.4 billion in wage-risk premiums. Traffic safety programmes can reduce the fringe benefit bill without reducing the benefits offered to employees. Eliminating alcohol-impaired and unrestrained driving would save employers $15.2 billion annually.     

The use of stakeholder analysis to understand ethical and moral issues in the primary resource sector

The mineral resources sector is critical to Australia's economic and social well-being. Minerals and energy have a value of $30 billion in export revenues, providing 50 percent of Australia's merchandise exports. The industry is characterized by substantial capital investment and very long lead times for project developments and a very competitive international market. The future direction and location of the industry is inextricably linked to long term exploration activities. The industry is faced with a far more complex set of environments than most. The paper identifies the range of complex issues and the wide variety of players using a stakeholder analysis. By monitoring such interactions, and knowing the objective set of the parties, a guide could be established to define moral and ethical frameworks for each interaction.Frederick Frost is an Associate Professor, Curtin Business School. He has the degrees of Bachelor and Master in Metallurgical Engineering, and Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering and MBA.     

从中美知识产权争端看“特别301”条款的实质

“特别301”条款是用于保障美国的知识产权在外国得到有效保护．保障依赖于知识产权保护的美国人公平和平等地进入外国市场的。在“‘特别301’条款年度审查报告”中,美国的贸易代表曾多次指出,中国的国内市场仿冒和盗版问题十分严重,给美国企业、个人带来巨额经济损失。特别是,近年来美中贸易赤字不断增加,已逾千亿美元,因此知识产权的有效保护成为美国扭转对外贸易状况的关键。本文以对“特别301”条款的实体内容及适用程序的介绍为基础,以中美知识产权谈判为具体案例,深刻剖析“特别301”条款的实质。     

Water and wastewater treatment worldwide: the industry and the market for equipment and chemicals

Water is and will continue to be the key natural resource of the twenty-first century in all nations, large and small. While the agricultural sector is the largest user of water, its use for human consumption and in industrial processes is truly vital. A wide variety of equipment and chemicals are involved in cleansing water and wastewater; the global market is estimated at $84 billion in 2017 and at $123 billion in 2022. This study analyzes the specific categories of equipment and chemicals, the nature of end-use markets, and the creative business strategies involved. Comments on competition and marketing practices as well as two brief case studies provide further insights on this important industrial sector     

The Merits of Dual Pricing of Russian Natural Gas

Our analysis reveals that, from Russia's perspective, there is no economic rationale to unify the price of natural gas it sells domestically and in Europe. We argue that pipelines allow Gazprom to segment the Russian market from the European (including Turkey) market and that Russia has market power in the European market. If Russia were to fail to exploit this market power in its European market, by selling its natural gas to Europe at only full long‐run marginal cost plus transportation costs, Russia would lose between $5 billion and $7.5 billion per year (almost two per cent of its GDP). If, instead, Russia were to raise its domestic prices to the prices it charges in Europe, Russian industry would incur very large investment adjustment and unemployment costs in the short run – adjustment costs that cannot be justified on the basis of comparative advantage. We estimate that the efficient world price would be achieved if Gazprom were to employ its optimal ‘two‐part tariff’. The optimal two‐part tariff would double Gazprom's annual profits in Europe, but it involves significant long‐term risks for Gazprom of lost market share.     

The Payoff to America from Globalisation

This article summarizes the economic payoff to the United States from its postwar trade opening and estimates the potential future gains from more opening going forward. To quantify these gains, we survey different methodologies and estimates. We find that trade opening since World War II has added between $800 billion to $1.4 trillion to the US economy, or about $7,000 to $13,000 per household. More speculative estimates of the potential additional gains from removing the rest of US trade barriers range from $400 billion to $1.3 trillion, or about $4,000 to $12,000 per household. Since trade opening permanently raises national income, these gains are enjoyed annually. Trade opening inevitably entails adjustment costs. We estimate that the lifetime cost of all worker dislocations that have been triggered by expanded trade in the United States could be as high as $54 billion, although probably less. The permanent gains from past and potential liberalization easily swamp the modest sums necessary to alleviate the temporary pains of adjustment. In the future as in the past, free trade can significantly raise income – and quality of life – in America.     

The World Market for Light Sources: Lamps and LEDs, 2006–21

The global light source sector is experiencing fast growth in the current decade; market size is expected to reach the $78 billion mark in 2016 compared with $44 billion in 2011; but growth is likely to slow after that. Key factors in this field are energy conservation, affordability of more efficient lights, the quest for better light quality, and standards by agencies and associations. Regionally, Asia-Pacific is expected to assume a commanding lead with 53 percent of the global total by 2016 compared with North America at 17 percent and Western Europe at 14 percent. Fluorescent and incandescent lamps combined dominated with 71 percent as a share of world sales in 2011; they and light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are expected to each be at 42 percent of the total by 2016. Technological advances created less costly LEDs that now offer longer life, better light quality, and more flexibility. In terms of markets or end-uses, buildings are expected to capture about 75 percent of the total in 2016, with the remainder taken by outdoor applications, motor vehicles, and other manufactured goods. Three firms account for about 25 percent of market share globally: Philips Lighting, Osram, and General Electric. All of them pursue an aggressive research and management agenda; the first two are reorganizing. Battle for market share is bound to continue by companies around the globe. The standardized nature of sockets allows for flexibility by users and often leads to commodity type marketing. (This paper and the monograph on which it is based exclude both lighting fixtures and lighting control systems. For information on lighting fixtures, see The Freedonia Group [2012].)