Consumer Interest and Health Reform: The Logic of Withdrawal from Managed Competition

We propose six tasks Colston Warne would urge in addressing health care reform: (1) skepticism about advertised claims, (2) independent testing and appraisal, (3) minimizing barriers to consumer access and choice, (4) maximizing quality, (5) evaluation of fairness, and (6) assessing consumer empowerment potential. Such an exercise would likely have led him and should lead us to advocate single-payer health reform. Consumers are the key to breaking through the grid-lock blocking health reform, and single payer is the key for unlocking the democratic dialogue needed for moving forward. Thus we need to stop “fighting over the bill”and instead begin building a better health system.     

The liability to consumers of manufacturers of defective goods — An Australian perspective

There is an increasing tendency for consumers to regard the manufacturer as being primarily responsible for the safety and quality of consumer goods, even though in many if not most legal systems the common assumption by the consumer that the manufacturer rather than the retailer bears the primary liability for defective goods is not in fact correct. The legal position of the consumer in Australia under the general law of contract and tort is outlined as a background to the reforms made in 1978 by an important amendment to the Federal Trade Practices Act. A manufacturer (or importer) of consumer goods now is bound by statutory obligations, enforceable by the consumer, in respect of the quality of his goods. He is also bound by any express warranty given by him, and is liable where the goods require to be repaired or where replacement parts are required, but repair facilities or spare parts are not reasonably available. Except in the case of the obligations relating to the provision of spare parts and repair facilities, the manufacturer's statutory obligations cannot be excluded or limited. The Act also contains provisions limiting the time during which a consumer can commence an action against a manufacturer.Although the author considers that there are some defects in the legislation, he concludes that it represents a significant advance in the legal protection of the consumer's economic interests. There is a need for the expansion of existing mechanisms for the informal resolution of consumer claims, but the author also believes that the existence of the new legislative code setting out reasonably clearly defined rights will often in practice greatly strengthen the position of government agencies and others in attempting to negotiate a settlement on behalf of a consumer. Damages recoverable by a consumer from a manufacturer extend to consequential losses, including death or personal injury. As a result, a measure of strict liability for personal injury caused by defective products has been imposed on manufacturers. The legislation does not, however, offer a comprehensive regime of strict liability for personal injury and many anomalous situations will arise. The author considers that there is therefore a need in Australia for a review of the whole question of strict liability for personal injury caused by defective products, although even were this to occur there would still exist a strong need for a scheme such as that discussed in the article to govern the claim of a consumer for economic losses caused by the supply of defective or inferior products.

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Die Haftung des Warenherstellers bei Mängeln der Sache — eine australische Position zum Verbraucherschutz

Zusammenfassung Konsumenten gehen in immer stärkerem Maße davon aus, daß primär der Hersteller für die Güte und Sicherheit von Bedarfsgegenständen verantwortlich ist. Dem steht bislang die Rechtstradition der meisten Länder entgegen, wonach der Verkäufer und nicht der Hersteller primär für Fehler und Mängel verantwortlich ist.Der Aufsatz stellt die rechtliche Stellung des Konsumenten in Australien vor dem Hintergrund allgemeiner vertrags- und deliktsrechtlicher Regelungen dar. 1978 ist durch eine Novelle des Federal Trade Practices Act eine wichtige Reform eingeführt worden. Der Hersteller oder Importeur von Verbrauchsgütern (consumer goods) ist jetzt kraft Gesetzes, das vom Verbraucher im Klagewege durchgesetzt werden kann, einstandspflichtig für die Qualität seiner Waren. Er ist gleichermaßen unter einer Garantieerklärung haftbar. Er hat auch dafür einzustehen, daß Güter, die Wartung, Reparatur oder Ersatzteile benötigen, ordnungsgemäß und zu vernünftigen Bedingungen gewartet werden können. Die Pflichten des Herstellers können durch vertragliche Abrede nicht ausgeschlossen oder eingeschränkt werden, mit der Ausnahme der Wartungsverpflichtung. Die Novelle enthält schließlich Bestimmungen über Ausschluß- und Verjährungsfristen für die Ansprüche des Verbrauchers, wobei sie sich an den EG-Richtlinienentwurf zur Produkthaftung anlehnt.Auch wenn der Autor einige Vorschriften der Novelle kritisch würdigt, so geht er davon aus, daß sie einen wichtigen Fortschritt im rechtlichen Schutz der wirtschaftlichen Interessen des Verbrauchers darstellt. Daneben besteht weiterhin ein Bedarf zur Verbesserung der Rechtsdurchsetzung, aber die Existenz der Novelle und der dort enthaltenen klar definierten Pflichten des Herstellers erleichtert staatlichen Behörden und anderen den Schutz der Rechte des Konsumenten. Die vom Hersteller zu liquidierenden Schäden betreffen auch Folgeschäden einschließlich Tod und Personenschäden. Im Ergebnis haftet der Hersteller ohne Verschulden für Produktfehler. Allerdings ist die Gesetzeslage nicht vollständig befriedigend; es fehlt ein umfassendes System der Gefährdungshaftung für Produktfehler, etwa gegenüber Dritten, die das fehlerhafte Produkt lediglich benutzen, ohne es selbst gekauft zu haben. Nach Auffassung des Autors muß deshalb in Australien die Produkthaftung für Personenschäden neu überdacht werden. Daneben bleibt die — durch die Novelle befriedigte — Notwendigkeit, den Verbraucher gegenüber Vermögensschäden bei Lieferung eines mangelhaften Produktes dadurch zu schützen, daß man ihm einen Direktanspruch gegen den Hersteller zuerkennt.

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David Harland is Professor of Law, University of Sydney Law School, 173–175 Phillip Street, Sydney, N.S.W. 2000, Australia.     

诉讼财产保全责任保险承保风险分析及对策建议

诉讼财产保全责任保险是一种新型的责任保险,其承保风险也较一般责任保险有所不同,在心理风险、道德风险、逆选择风险、法律风险等方面表现出特殊性。保险公司应以立法机关完善法律法规为前提,以监管部门引导诉讼财产保全保险体系建设为方向,采取发展业务渠道、建设核保团队、积极参与另诉维权等具体措施,实现对诉讼财产保全责任保险的承保风险的有效管控。     

Information-Based Principles for Rethinking Consumer Protection Policy

In this paper we review the changes in economic theory that have taken place since current consumer protection regimes were first developed in the 1960s and 70s. We draw from this evolution in economic theory the basic principle that information, and the complex ways in which information works both in the marketplace and in regulatory regimes, should form the core of a set of principles for rethinking consumer protection policy. We go on to propose a number of such information-based principles as a guide for the redesign of consumer protection policy to deal with an increasingly global and complex consumer marketplace.     

Effects of distribution channel structure in markets with vertically differentiated products

This study examines how the structure of distribution channels may influence firms’ quality and price strategies and how they may in turn affect consumer welfare. It treats product quality as a decision variable so that the degree of product substitution becomes endogenous rather than exogenous as in previous studies. We find that, with vertically differentiated firms, the changes in channel structure have asymmetric effects depending on whether they occur in the high-quality channel or in the low-quality channel. The product quality of the high-quality channel decreases when it decentralizes unilaterally. However, product quality of the low-quality channel would increase when it decentralizes. The high-quality manufacturer and its channel suffer more from decentralization in comparison with their low-quality counterparts, and the low-quality manufacturer actually receives greater profits when both channels are decentralized. An important driver behind these asymmetries is the interaction between firms’ pricing incentives in integrated versus decentralized channels and what consumer segments they serve. Our analysis indicates that decentralization may reduce consumer welfare, but decentralization in the high-quality channel hurts consumers more than that in the low-quality channel. Therefore in a competitive environment where firms make both quality and price decisions, channel integration would have significant welfare enhancement effects through the elimination of double marginalization, especially if it happens in the high-quality channel. Moreover, we demonstrate that once quality is endogenized, integration is the only equilibrium of channel structure choices. This suggests that the private incentives of firms may actually benefit consumers but do not have to be in line with the general preference of industry regulation for decentralization.     

侵权责任归责原则体系分析

侵权责任法的归责原则是确定行为人的侵权民事责任的依据和标准,也是贯穿于整个侵权责任法并对各个侵权法规范起着统帅作用的立法指导方针。侵权责任的归责原则所要解决的是侵权责任的伦理和正义性基础问题,"三元论"归责原则因具备内在逻辑联系和层次性而较之其它归责原则说更具有合理性。我国新颁行的侵权责任法采用二元归责体系,即归责原则由过错责任和无过错责任构成,归责原则应采用以过错责任原则和无过错责任原则为基础,以公平责任原则为补充的归责原则体系。     

The Empire Strikes Back: Digital Control of Unfair Terms of Online Services

The authors argue that it is possible to partly automate the process of abstract control of fairness of clauses in online consumer contracts. The authors present a theoretical and empirical argument for this claim, including a brief presentation of the software they have designed. This type of automation would not replace human lawyers but would assist them and make their work more effective and efficient. Policy makers should direct their attention to the potential of using algorithmic techniques in enforcing the law regarding unfair contractual terms, and to facilitating research on and ultimately implementing such technologies.     

The Effects of Manufacturer Disclosure on Consumer Perceptions of Private Brand Grocery Product Attributes

New food label disclosures are frequently proposed. One such proposal, the identification of manufacturer or packer of private label food items, has potentially far-reaching effects upon food choice decision making and ultimately upon the cost and availability of private label food products. This experimental study examined consumer perceptions of private brand grocery product attributes before and after manufacturer disclosure. Attribute evaluation scores from the experiment were compared against each other and against a control group. Subjects appeared to be influenced by the information, but the effects varied by product and by attribute. The overall impact of mandatory manufacturer disclosure should be carefully weighed against the consumer's right to know. Much more needs to be known about consumer use of this information before implementing this requirement.     

Modelling short-and long-term marketing effects in the consumer purchase journey

The role of advertising in consumer demand has received much attention in the marketing literature, where the marketing response model has emerged as a dominant analytical framework. In recent years, the basic model structure has evolved in three directions. Firstly, the incorporation of online paid, owned and earned media to accommodate the off-online path-to-purchase. Secondly, the introduction of consumer mindset metrics to capture the emotional foundations of brand-building. Finally, combinations of both to offer a complete view of the consumer purchase journey. In this paper, we argue that no one development successfully provides a fully holistic representation of the role of advertising. We thus propose a more comprehensive structural approach: one that combines search, paid, owned and earned media with a cointegrating mechanism for brand-building, linking mindset metrics directly to long-term base sales. The result is a practical modelling system for marketing mix practitioners with a rigorous economic and statistical foundation for short and long-term advertising effects. The proposed approach is applied to a global electronics manufacturer in the US market, where results fall into three broad areas. Firstly, we demonstrate how off and online marketing interact in the journey structure, the part played by search, owned and earned media and how specific media types play different roles. Secondly, we illustrate how consumer touchpoint experience is a key element of the process, improving measurement of in-store marketing. Finally, we show how consumer mindset metrics and social media play an important word-of-mouth role, with paid and earned media working together to drive long-term demand evolution.     

An Appraisal of Shareholder Proportional Liability

Shareholders of corporations have their liability for actions of the corporation limited by law. Unlike the equity holder in a partnership or proprietorship, the assets that a shareholder has distinct from her holdings in the enterprise can not be taken to satisfy liabilities arising from actions of the enterprise itself. This paper argues that a reasonable principle of fairness argues for an alternative to limited liability, proportional liability. Proportional liability makes a shareholder liable for the same proportion of a corporation's excess of liabilities over assets that her number of shares bears to the total number of shares outstanding. The key idea is that it is unfair in situations in which explicit agreements can not be reached for shareholders to bear only limited risk when they may receive gains from stock dividends and appreciation that are not limited to any pre-determined amount. Proportional liability has not been much examined in the financial literature. Good utilitarian arguments have been given for limited liability over unlimited liability for corporate shareholders, but these arguments do not clearly support the choice of limited liability over proportional liability.     

Consumer education: educational considerations and perspectives

This paper examines questions concerning consumer education in relation to consumption and household management. It is based partly on literature studies and partly on a current pilot study, also on studies carried out in the classroom and developmental work in schools and on teacher training courses. The pilot study on consumer education is being carried out in Denmark and is funded by the Danish Ministry of Business Affairs. Another part of the study concerns a qualitative investigation of pupils’ understandings of consumption and its meaning in their lives, but this is not reported here. The key research questions relate to the way in which the young consumer is educated, both formally and informally, and what the possibilities and perspectives are for consumer education. Introductory research is discussed, followed by a presentation and discussion of key issues for consumer education, such as household management, consumption, home economics and education. Finally, three examples are described and discussed which demonstrate how the advocated principles of consumer education and empowerment can be put into practice. These examples are based on developmental work carried out in lower secondary schools and teacher training courses.     

基于信任的移动社交电子商务购买意愿影响因素

近年来,越来越多的个体、商家加入移动社交网络平台开展电子商务活动,对网络零售产生了重要影响。但由于缺乏监管和行业规范的引导,消费者感知风险存在,影响消费者交易行为,且理论研究较少,也不能为此类电子商务模式的发展提供理论指导。信任是电子商务活动的基础,信任对消费者购买意愿产生直接影响,平台可用性、消费者内在特征和行为以及商家会直接或间接影响非移动社交电子商务模式消费者的购买意愿。而在移动社交电子商务中,由于其模式的独特性,以往影响消费者信任的因素已难以有效反映移动社交电子商务消费者的购买意愿。此外,商家通过社群与若干消费者建立不同程度的连接,需要研究连接中强弱关系对消费者购买意愿的影响程度。因此,基于移动社交电子商务的特点假设影响消费者信任和购买意愿的因素,即除系统质量、信息质量、产品质量、服务质量四个影响非移动社交电子商务消费者信任的因素外,还包括社群关系和网购认知这两个影响移动社交电子商务消费者信任的新因素,接下来假设上述因素对消费者感知信任和感知风险两个中介变量存在影响,并进一步影响消费者购买意愿,继而再通过构建结构方程模型进行实证分析。实证结果显示,系统质量、信息质量、产品质量、服务质量均不同程度正向影响消费者感知信任,负向影响感知风险,而社群强弱关系对购买意愿的影响与弱关系理论结论相反,网购认知对增强消费者感知信任作用明显,消除消费者感知风险是增强消费者信任的重要途径。     

Consumer uncertainty,revisited

Uncertainty is an important concept within consumer behavior which to date is under‐theorized, especially in relation to important downstream variables such as information search intention and purchase intention, and can therefore lead to a loss of utility. The authors propose a new multidimensional conceptualization of consumer uncertainty and develop a theoretical model of uncertainty within two consumer behavior contexts, namely avoidance of sweatshop apparel and avoidance of food additives. Drawing on literature‐based insights as well as qualitative research and Expected Utility Theory, the authors develop hypotheses that offer insight into the potential antecedents (ambiguity and credibility) and consequences (search intention and purchase intention) of uncertainty. Using survey data, the authors test the hypotheses, finding strong support for many relationships hypothesized. Research and managerial implications are discussed. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Impact of national traumatic events on consumer purchasing

The purpose of this research is to evaluate differences in consumer perception before and after national traumatic events such as the terrorist attacks that took place on 11 September 2001. The authors found a significant difference in consumer ethnocentrism, patriotism, time management, attitude towards regulation of business and product quality following the terrorist attacks. These differences impact consumer purchase decision processes and become important to businesses that are targeting these consumers with their product offerings. In addition, marketing managers' understanding of change in consumer perceptions and attitude should impact how consumer products are marketed.     

Visualization service investment strategies for a self-operated fresh agricultural product e-tailer

Motivated by the fact that numerous fresh agricultural product e-tailers utilize the visualization technology to improve service quality, this paper examines visualization service investment strategies for a fresh agricultural product e-tailer. A supply chain comprised of one manufacturer and one self-operated e-tailer is constructed. We first investigate two service investment strategies in the game theory model: the manufacturer investment and the e-tailer investment. Our analysis reveals that there are two investment cases in the supply chain: one member intends to the service investment (a “win-win” situation) and neither is willing to offer the service (a “lose-lose” dilemma). Then we extend the theory model. The impacts of consumer preference heterogeneity, demand uncertainty and consumer preference for the product quality difference on the investment strategies are explored by the method of multi-agent modelling. We find that: (i) when consumer preference heterogeneity is small, the e-tailer should invest in the service; (ii) if consumer preference or demand uncertainty is moderate, it is difficult to reach an agreement between two players. Further, the government subsidy factor is considered. The issue of how the government subsidy affects service investment strategies is discussed. In fact, it is not necessary to provide a subsidy all the time. Only when the free-riding behavior happens, the government should grant a moderate amount of subsidy to coordinate the supply chain members. An excessive subsidy hurts two sides’ benefits instead.     

Acquisition Pattern Analysis for Relationship Marketing: A Conceptual and Methodological Redefinition

Traditionally, relationship marketing focuses upon the interaction between suppliers and consumers. In this article, the authors propose that relationship marketing cannot ignore another type of (long-term) interaction: the one between consumers and products. Both types of interaction should be taken into account when assessing the nature and the quality of the relationship. The relevant literature on consumer–product interactions is limited. Existing theoretical concepts, including brand loyalty, cannot adequately cover the full notion of consumer–product interactions. Acquisition pattern analysis (APA) seems capable of providing an alternative. It provides an insight in the structure of product sets and acquisition orders. However, the available techniques for APA cause confusion by their emphasis on either the structure or the order of product acquisitions. The authors propose a methodological improvement, which has analytical implications as well. A study on purchases of financial products demonstrates the proposed alternative approach, and managerial implications are discussed.     

Design of product quality scales for conveying information by infomediaries

Infomediaries, such as movie critics, often evaluate product quality using discrete grades, such as thumbs-up and thumbs-down. Their reports are used by potential consumers to decide whether to purchase the product. Our aim is to examine how the grading can be improved by answering research questions such as: What is the quality cutoff for each grade? How many grades should the grading scale use? How should grading be done for other goals than informativeness, such as maximizing reviewer’s traffic? How should grading be done to encourage producers to improve quality? Using an analytical model, we show that optimal grade cutoffs depend on the distributions of product quality and consumer taste, and the resulting scale may have unequal intervals. As few as five grades can be near-optimal for consumer welfare and grades should be made more difficult to achieve when producers can invest in quality improvement. These results should help improve the design of scales for reporting quality.     

Communication and Promotion Decisions in Retailing: A Review and Directions for Future Research

Communication and promotion decisions are a fundamental part of retailer customer experience management strategy. In this review paper, we address two key questions from a retailer's perspective: (1) what have we learned from prior research about promotion, advertising, and other forms of communication and (2) what major issues should future research in this area address. In addressing these questions, we propose and follow a framework that captures the interrelationships among manufacturer and retailer communication and promotion decisions and retailer performance. We examine these questions under four major topics: determination and allocation of promotion budget, trade promotions, consumer promotions and communication and promotion through the new media. Our review offers several useful insights and identifies many fruitful topics and questions for future research.