CONVEX RISK MEASURES FOR GOOD DEAL BOUNDS

We study convex risk measures describing the upper and lower bounds of a good deal bound, which is a subinterval of a no‐arbitrage pricing bound. We call such a convex risk measure a good deal valuation and give a set of equivalent conditions for its existence in terms of market. A good deal valuation is characterized by several equivalent properties and in particular, we see that a convex risk measure is a good deal valuation only if it is given as a risk indifference price. An application to shortfall risk measure is given. In addition, we show that the no‐free‐lunch (NFL) condition is equivalent to the existence of a relevant convex risk measure, which is a good deal valuation. The relevance turns out to be a condition for a good deal valuation to be reasonable. Further, we investigate conditions under which any good deal valuation is relevant.     

A Bayesian survey technique for rare subjects

We propose a methodology to draw a representative sample from a population with a small fraction of potential customers for a certain product or a service. The objective is to increase the expected number of potential customers in a sample of fixed size representing the whole population. The method also provides a useful way of incorporating subjective judgement and uncertainty into the sampling plan. This approach has produced very satisfactory results for rare event problems in a number of telecommunications applications.     

A Progressive Search for a Group Ranking with Robust Conclusions on Prudent Orders

We consider the problem where rankings, provided for instance by a group of evaluators, have to be combined into a common group ranking. In such a context, Arrow and Raynaud suggested that the compromise ranking should be a prudent order. In general, a prudent order is not unique. That is why, we propose to manage this possible multiplicity of compromise solutions by computing robust conclusions. This allows for a progressive refinement of the decision model and supports the group to eventually select one group ranking. The approach is illustrated on a problem where a group of junior researchers has to agree on a ranking of research domains.     

Revisiting the Concept of a Societal Orientation: Conceptualization and Delineation

Marketers have traditionally evaluated products and practices on the basis of whether something could be sold. It is also important to evaluate products and practices from a societal perspective, “Should a product be sold?” The first idea reflects a managerial orientation and what must be done to sell a product; the second idea reflects a societal orientation and the impact of selling a product. In relation to the second idea, the societal marketing concept was introduced in 1972. There has been little advancement in our understanding of a societal orientation since that time. The current study presents a conceptualization of a societal orientation based on a review of literature and qualitative interviews. The construct was conceptualized as “attention to the long-term well-being of individuals and society at large by enhancing positive impacts from and reducing negative effects associated with production and consumption of a product.” Five domains comprising a societal orientation are proposed: physical consequences, psychological well-being, social relationships, economic contribution, and environmental consciousness.     

The separateness-connectedness self-schema: Scale development and application to message construction

Two studies were conducted to assess separateness-connectedness (SC) as a new message variable and as a new individual difference variable in advertising. Study I began the process of developing a Separateness-Connectedness scale based on a sample of 140 college students (97 Westerners and 43 non-Westerners, 81 males and 59 females) attending a midwestern university. The 9-item, 2-factor scale revealed good reliability and construct validity. The structure of the overall model was then successfully tested on a new sample by confirmatory factor analysis. In Study II an experiment assessed whether the separateness/connectedness self-schema would moderate the effect of using either a connected or a separated advertising appeal on consumers' attitude toward the ad. As predicted, a significant interaction effect was found. The results revealed that individuals with a separate self-schema preferred a separated advertising theme, and individuals with a connected self-schema preferred a connected advertising theme. Implications for advertising managers, the studies' limitations, and future research directions are also discussed. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

高新技术企业综合评估系统研究

对高新技术企业的评估是一项非常重要的工作,因为它直接关系到对高新技术企业投资的成功与否。根据我国实际情况,结合国内外已有的研究成果,运用AHP法建立高新技术企业评估指标体系,并且利用模糊数学建立高新技术企业综合评估模型,旨在较好地解决对高新技术企业评估的问题。     

Tax evasion and financial repression

Using a simple overlapping generations framework, calibrated to four Southern European countries, we analyze the relationship between tax evasion, determined endogenously, and financial repression. We show that higher degree of tax evasion within a country, resulting from a higher level of corruption and a lower penalty rate, yields higher degrees of financial repression as a social optimum. However, a higher degree of tax evasion, due to a lower tax rate, reduces the severity of the financial restriction.     

Community differences in business births and business growths

The published literature relating to the location of a business tends to support two different kinds of theories: (1) that business locations are selected to minimize costs; or (2) that decision-makers select locations because of personal preferences. This study attempts to find explanations as to why certain communities have grown faster than others, and to provide a model for the location decision of a start-up business.We find a negative correlation of two entrepreneurship measures to environmental factors that are usually considered to be desirable, i.e., health care and the environment, climate and terrain, recreation, and low crime. We find a weak correlation between community attitudes and the entrepreneurship measures. We also find a positive correlation of entrepreneurship with a high number of college graduates; a negative correlation when a high proportion of the population is over age 65.Population mobility and low unemployment are also positively correlated with the measures, but those factors seem at least as likely to be results as to be causes of business births and business growth.We believe that start-ups are vital for any community that wishes to grow, therefore the location decision of start-up businesses seems important. We propose a model of the location decision of a start-up, a model that emphasizes the individuality of the decision maker and the specific success requirements of the business. The driving force behind a start-up can be a decision-maker's desire for personal gain, a problem that begs a solution, or a solution that is looking for a problem. In some cases, the reason for starting a business will dictate its location. In other cases, success requirements of the business will dominate. We believe that researchers can gain a true understanding of the location decision only by considering both the preference of the decision-maker and the requirements of the specific business.     

Strategic IMC: From abstract concept to marketing management tool

Although integrated marketing communication (IMC) has progressed towards mid-range maturity level, its full-scale adoption has been impeded by a lack of consensus on its defining constructs. The purpose of this study is to move from abstraction to define the construct of strategic integration (SI) and develop this into a management tool, thus making an important contribution to both the theory and practice of IMC. Drawing from both IMC and strategic management literature, the construct of SI is operationalised into a number of key factors and a well-cited management model, Fuchs' ‘integration valuator’ is explored as the starting point of a measurement tool for IMC. To do this, a Delphi study invites the scrutiny of an expert panel of world-leading IMC researchers and practitioners. The panel validated the model construction process, redefined overarching constructs and key factors with a high degree of consensus, supported a process measure, suggested a weighted evaluation measure and recognised the importance of developing such a measure. They delivered clear and consistent imperatives guiding model development. The result is a measure of SI that evaluates organisational proficiency and diagnoses the integration of IMC campaigns. It also advances theory by providing a better understanding of the construct of SI.     

Employee References: Between the Legal Devil and the Ethical Deep Blue Sea

An employer asked to provide a reference for a former or departing employee is confronted with a number of complex legal and ethical concerns. The issue of references is always controversial, involving a balance of employers' fears of legal liability, interests in providing relevant information to prospective employers, and concerns for fairness to former employees. Recently this topic has been the focus of new attention as the result of a court decision holding a former employer legally liable for wrongs committed by a former employee in a new job. In that case, the former employer had provided a positive reference while neglecting to note certain negative aspects of the former employee'sperformance. This paper addresses legal and ethical aspects of the reference dilemma and incorporates responses of human resource professionals to the question of ethical reference policies and practices.     

Place the good after the bad: effects of emotional shifts on consumer memory

Marketing research has a limited understanding about the effects arising from emotional shifts (i.e., the transition from one emotion to another) during the same advertising message. This paper sheds light on this topic through two studies. Study 1 examines whether an advertising message that features a negative-to-positive emotional shift (i.e., a shift from a negative to a positive emotion) generates greater recall of an advertised brand than an advertising message with a neutral-to-positive emotional shift (i.e., a shift from a neutral to a positive emotion) or one with no emotional shift. Study 2 examines whether an advertising message that simulates a buyer-seller encounter—with the seller reproducing a negative-to-positive emotional shift via facial expressions—generates a greater recall of the advertised content than an identical advertisement with no emotional shift. Results confirm that a negative-to-positive shift facilitates the recall of both the brand and the advertised information.     

Making an exciting brand big: Brand personality,logo size and brand evaluation

This research examines how brand personality (excitement) and logo size used in product design (big versus small) interacts in affecting consumer brand evaluation. We first demonstrate that combining a big logo and a high-excitement brand (versus a small logo combined with a high-excitement brand) leads to high processing fluency, further resulting in more favourable brand evaluation (Study 1). We then determine the consumption situation as a moderator of such an interaction effect: the influence of the big logo and high-excitement-brand combination on brand evaluation is significantly weakened in a private consumption situation (a T-shirt worn at home) compared to a public consumption situation (a T-shirt worn outside, Study 2a), and becomes insignificant for a private product category (slippers, Study 2b).     

When less is more? The contingent effect of product supply limitation in the release of new electronic products

In the market of consumer electronics, firms often limit their product supply to create a scarcity effect to entice consumers to buy their product. However, the outcome of such a strategy is not always desirable. In this study, we propose the product configuration level as a contingent variable that works with the supply level to affect the outcome of a supply limitation strategy. With a vignette-based experiment, we find that for a product with a superior configuration, consumers' purchase intention is boosted only if the supply is very limited. For a product with an inferior configuration, however, the supply limitation strategy does not work at any supply level. Therefore, the supply limitation strategy works only for a superior product configuration and at a fine-tuned supply level.     

Firms’ export decisions—fixed trade costs and the size of the export market

This article presents a model of international trade under monopolistic competition. In the increasing returns sector firms face fixed, in addition to variable, trade costs, and both exporters and non-exporters may coexist. Exporters benefit from access to large foreign markets, thus a small country has a higher share of exporting firms than a large one. In contrast to standard models, the increasing returns sector will be more open in a small country than in a large one, and a small country may be a net exporter of such commodities, despite the disadvantage of a smaller home market.     

New firm location: An equilibrium model and its disequilibrium dynamics

This paper is centered on two basic statements: i) the birth of new firms is spatially related to location factors endowment and ii) the set of location factors can support only up to a given number of firms.The paper firstly defines the regional ex-ante demand for firms as a function of location factors set. In the following step a definition of regional equilibrium stock of firms is given and a static equilibrium model of new firms birth is built up. In a dynamic disequilibrium model the net birth of firms is a function of two disequilibrium terms: a sectoral and a regional one.The sectoral disequilibrium depends on the industry production structure, the regional disequilibrium is linked to the adaptation elasticity of location factors set to an exogenous shock.Finally, a first estimation on Italian data is performed, on the basis of which some new lines of analysis are suggested.     

Fertility,intergenerational transfers and economic development

This paper develops a model of endogenous growth where agents are altruistic and value both the utilities of their parent and of their children. Individuals endogenously choose the number of their children, and arbitrate between financing education, leaving them some bequest and offering some gift to their parents. We establish the existence of three types of long run regime. Starting from a low level of human capital, an economy converges towards a stationary state associated with a constant output per worker, a high level of fertility and ascendant transfers. If the initial level of human capital is not too low, another stationary state jointly exists with a lower level of fertility and no transfer. Finally, starting from a high level of human capital, the economy experiences a steady growth of output per worker associated with a low fertility level and descendant transfers. We then assume that an economy is initially in the stationary underdevelopment regime with ascendant transfers, and we study the power of different policies to push the economy toward the growth regime. We successively consider a fertility control policy, an education subsidies policy, and the introduction of a pension system for the elderly.     

Consumers' Trust in a Brand and the Link to Brand Loyalty

Brands are important in the consumer market. They are the interface between consumers and the company, and consumers may develop loyalty to brands. This study proposes that trust in a brand is important and is a key factor in the development of brand loyalty. Factors hypothesized to influence trust in a brand include a number of brand characteristics, company characteristics and consumer-brand characteristics. Respondents representing a broad spectrum of Singapore consumers were surveyed. The findings reveal that brand characteristics are relatively more important in their effects on a consumer's trust in a brand. The results also show that trust in a brand is positively related to brand loyalty. Marketers should, therefore, take careful consideration of brand factors in the development of trust in a brand.     

回转器在振荡电路中的应用

本文叙述应用回转器的振荡电路的原理与实践.将运算放大器及其外接元件组成回转器,就能够模拟一只Q值极高的大电感,从而实现超低频振荡.这种等放电感的电感量可达1MH,甚至更高!如果将模拟电感与适当的电容组成并联谐振回路,它的振荡频率很容易低于1Hz.在此回路两端接上正反馈回路,就能维持稳定振荡,而且波形良好.电路输出可以作为标准信号,用来校准医用微分器,作生理电脉冲波形变换的研究.