Does Sustainability Pay? Evidence from the Food Sector

This research investigates sustainability concepts, linking them with social, environmental, and operational activities in the food supply chain. Building on the literature treating social sustainability as an antecedent of environmental sustainability, we present the effects of environmental sustainability on operational performance using constructs that reflect flexibility, quality, and responsiveness. For this purpose, manufacturing companies in the Turkish food industry are surveyed and 101 responses are collected. A partial least squares structural equation model (PLS-SEM) is constructed to test the reliability and the validity of the measurement model and the structural model. The results show that social sustainability is positively associated with environmental sustainability. Moreover, environmental sustainability has a positive influence on operational performance measures: flexibility, quality, and responsiveness with effect sizes that range from medium to large. Organizations in the food supply chain should consider not only the economic, but also the social and the environmental aspects of sustainability. To do this, governments could inform manufacturers in the food sector about the importance of sustainability and encourage them with different incentives towards more sustainable operational practices. This work establishes that investing in social and environmental sustainability returns increased operational performance. The limitation of the research is the size of the sample. In the future, the questionnaire can be used to compare results from other countries and other sectors.     

Women on the Board and Managers’ Pay: Evidence from Spain

The current literature shows great interest in the issue of gender diversity on boards of directors. Some studies have hypothesized a direct relationship between diversity and the value of the firm, but not many examine the intermediate mechanisms that may exert an influence on such relationships. We employ two stages of GMM estimation methodology to exhibit evidences of the relationship between gender diversity and compensation of top managers in the Spanish context. Results show that gender diversity positively affects the effectiveness of boards—in terms of composition, structure, size and functioning—influencing a proper design of top managers compensation linked to company performance. Evidences suggest that legislative actions aimed at increasing the presence of women on boards of directors are justified not only for ethical reasons, but also for reasons of economic efficiency.     

Do Interruptions Pay off? Effects of Interruptive Ads on Consumers' Willingness to Pay

We present the results of a study designed to measure the impact of interruptive advertising on consumers' willingness to pay for products bearing the advertiser's brand. Subjects participating in a controlled experiment were exposed to ads that diverted their attention from a computer game they were testing. We measured subjects' willingness to pay for a good associated with the advertised brand. We found that the ads significantly lowered the willingness to pay for goods associated with the advertising brand. We do not find conclusive evidence that providing some level of user control over the appearance of ads mitigates the negative impact of ad interruption. Our results contribute to the research on the economic impact of advertising, and introduce a method of measuring actual (as opposed to self-reported) willingness to pay in experimental marketing research.     

Can Spending Time in the Minors Pay Off? An Examination of the Canadian Junior Public Equity Markets

This paper tests whether the junior public equity markets serve as an effective development market for early‐stage firms compared to private venture capital (VC). Focusing on the Canadian market, we compare the long‐run stock performance of firms that graduate from the Toronto Venture Stock Exchange (TSX‐V) to the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) against the performance of VC‐backed firms that have a direct IPO on the TSX. Controlling for various confounders and possible selection biases, we find that TSX‐V graduations significantly outperform VC‐backed IPOs by 28.2 percentage points in the three years following the TSX listing. Our results are consistent with the idea that a TSX‐V listing provides the insiders of early‐stage companies with valuable public‐markets experience.     

Does Greenwashing Pay Off? Understanding the Relationship Between Environmental Actions and Environmental Legitimacy

Do firms gain environmental legitimacy when they conform to external expectations regarding the natural environment? Drawing on institutional logic and signaling theory, we investigate sources of heterogeneity in the impacts of environmental actions on environmental legitimacy. Longitudinal data (1997–2001) about 325 publicly traded U.S. firms in polluting industries support the notion that environmental actions help firms gain environmental legitimacy. However, some actions instead can harm this legitimacy if environmental performance deteriorates and the firm is subject to intense scrutiny from nongovernmental organizations. Thus, an important contribution of this research is to identify conditions under which greenwashing can backfire.     

NCR 驱动Pay By Touch注册自助亭

NCR公司宣布,位于英国牛津市内和附近的三家Midcounties合作社超级市场,采用了以NCR EasyPoint(tm)自助亭技术和NCR与Pay By Touch协力开发的软件为特点的Pay By Touch注册自助亭.这是欧洲首次采用Pay By Touch生物特征识别支付服务,即通过银箱上一个简单的指纹扫描设备,客户就可从现有银行帐户授权进行安全的电子交易,取代银行卡、支票或现金的交易.……     

Does it Pay to Be Ethical? Examining the Relationship Between Organisations’ Ethical Culture and Innovativeness

In this article, we examine the relationship between ethical organisational culture and organisational innovativeness. A quantitative empirical analysis is based on a survey of a total of 719 respondents from all levels of three Finnish organisations, both general staff and managers. The organisations belong to both the private and public sectors. The results of this study show that organisations’ ethical culture is associated with their organisational innovativeness, and that different dimensions of ethical culture are associated with different dimensions of organisational innovativeness. The ethical culture of the organisation had a specific role in process and behavioural innovativeness. It was found that congruency of management was the single dimension with the highest effect on organisational innovativeness overall and specifically on process and behavioural innovativeness. These findings suggest that when organisations are aiming for specific outcomes, such as organisational innovativeness, they need to be aware of what dimensions of ethical culture are particularly relevant.     

NCR 驱动Pay By Touch注册自助亭

NCR公司宣布,位于英国牛津市内和附近的三家Midcounties合作社超级市场,采用了以NCR EasyPoint(tm)自助亭技术和NCR与Pay By Touch协力开发的软件为特点的Pay By Touch注册自助亭.这是欧洲首次采用Pay By Touch生物特征识别支付服务,即通过银箱上一个简单的指纹扫描设备,客户就可从现有银行帐户授权进行安全的电子交易,取代银行卡、支票或现金的交易.……     

Biofuel： Robbing Peter to Pay Paul？

Since the worsening global climate has worried people around the world,there is a rush to find answers.Many countries begin to substitute the greenhouse gas-emitting fossil fuels with biofuel,a kind of new energy processed from plants.There are two kinds of biofuel:ethanol,processed from sugarcane or corn,and biodiesel,made from biomass.     

Does It Pay to Promote on eBay?

Promotional upgrades to auction listings are now a ubiquitous feature of auction Web sites. We examine 705 auctions of a single consumer-electronic product on eBay and test whether use of various promotions results in a greater probability of sale or a higher realized price. We find that promotions that focus on display enhancements, such as border, bold, or highlight, are not worth the cost. However, the subtitle promotional tool is effective and worth the cost. We also find interesting results regarding seller reputation: although seller reputation does not increase the probability of a sale overall, it can result in higher realized price if a reputable seller is selected. Implications for promoting on eBay are discussed.     

Pay equity: Equal value to whom?

This paper is an exploration of the concept equal value as it applies to pay equity. Following a brief discussion of several standard objections to pay equity legislation, the paper considers a number of different criteria which are employed in determining equal value or worth. Two in particular are isolated for extended discussion: the desert and the contribution criteria. The paper concludes with a major concern about the phrase equal value to the employer. This concern becomes pressing once the desert and contribution criteria are distinguished. Wil Waluchow is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at McMaster University. He has published several articles in legal philosophy and ethics and is the co-author of Well and Good: Case Studies in Biomedical Ethics (with J. E. Thomas, 1987) and the co-editor of Business Ethics in Canada (with D. Poff, 1987).     

Consumers’ Willingness to Pay for Non-pirated Software

This study analyzed consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) for non-pirated computer software and examined how attitudes toward intellectual property rights and perceived risk affect WTPs. Two commonly used software products, Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office, were used in the study as objects to reveal consumer assessed values. A consumer survey was administered in Taiwan and the total valid samples were 799. Respondents in this study included students from senior high schools, colleges, and graduate schools, and general consumers who were no longer full-time students. The estimated average WTP for Windows was USD 58.55 and for Office was USD 53.49, much lower than the respective suggested retail prices in the market. Social norms had strong positive influences on willingness-to-pay for software products. The prosecution risk did not significantly increase WTPs for software products due to the reason that individuals who used pirated software were not at a high risk of being prosecuted. Performance risk was positively correlated to WTPs for software products. The respondents segmented into the low-WTP cluster were more likely to use pirated software than those in the high-WTP segment. Source reliability, legitimacy, technical support, and customer service were emphasized in decisions of respondents in the high-WTP segment and could be used in marketing strategies. Dr. Jane Lu Hsu is Professor in Department of Marketing at National Chung Hsing University in Taiwan. Charlene Wan-Yun Shiue was a former Research Assistant in the Department of Marketing at National Chung Hsing University in Taiwan.     

Apple Pay进入中国,机遇还是挑战?

2016年春节期间,支付宝拿出2亿多资金通过春节拜年红包,与微信支付打了一场红包支付战,两家金主靠赤裸裸的补贴大战,几乎瓜分了中国移动支付的市场。但2月18日,Apple Pay携手银联及多家银行支持强势在国内上线,来势汹汹。只需刷一下指纹就能支付,安全便捷,它将对支付宝和微信支付带来怎样的冲击?"苹果+银联"能与支付宝和微信抗衡吗?消费者在支付宝和微信补贴中培育起来的支付习惯,会轻而易举转移到苹果支付吗?一向傲娇的苹果公司会以补贴应战吗?本文针对第三方支付的特点及Apple Pay在国内上线的事件进行了分析,阐明了Apple Pay在国内支付市场面临的机遇和挑战,希望国内第三方支付平台及应用能更上一层楼。     

Do the Poor Pay More for Food? An Analysis of Grocery Store Availability and Food Price Disparities

Do the poor pay more for food? To answer this question, this study was conducted to provide an empirical analysis of grocery store access and prices across inner city and suburban communities within the Minneapolis and St. Paul metropolitan area. The comparison among different types of grocers and geographic areas is drawn from a survey of approximately fifty grocery items for fifty-five stores. Results indicate that the poor pay only slightly more in the Twin Cities grocery market. More significantly, those who shop in non-chain stores pay a significant premium, and the poor have less access to chain stores. This study reveals that the biggest factor contributing to higher grocery costs in poor neighborhoods is that large chain stores, where prices tend to be lower, are not located in these neighborhoods.     

Pay Inversion at Universities: Is it Ethical?

This paper examines an important issue facing academia-pay inversion. It discusses how inversion is accompanied by ethical issues including secrecy, moral dilemmas for faculty, honesty, and keeping promises. It then examines this issue from five ethical viewpoints: a legalistic perspective, ethical egoism, utilitarianism, distributive justice, and Kants deontological approach. As part of the discussion, the effect of the moral philosophy on the universitys corporate culture is examined, with attention given to morale and productivity. Finally, alternatives to pay inversion that universities may want to consider are discussed.     

Chinese and Foreign Media Pay Attention to EU-China Partenariat 2006

On December 8,2005, the press conference of EU-China Partenariat 2006 was held at the People's Congress Hall in Beijing. After the formal proclamation of the conference, Chinese and Foreign media paid high attention to EU-China Partenariat 2006. According to the incomplete statistics, Around 50 Chinese and Foreign media reported the news.     

Chinese and Foreign Media Pay Attention to EU-China Partenariat 2006

On December 8, 2005, the press conference of EU-China Partenariat 2006 was held at the People＇s Congress Hall in Beijing. After the formal proclamation of the conference, Chinese and Foreign media paid high attention to EU-China Partenariat 2006. According to the incomplete statistics, Around 50 Chinese and Foreign media reported the news.     

Beyond “Does it Pay to be Green?” A Meta-Analysis of Moderators of the CEP–CFP Relationship

Review of extant research on the corporate environmental performance (CEP) and corporate financial performance (CFP) link generally demonstrates a positive relationship. However, some arguments and empirical results have demonstrated otherwise. As a result, researchers have called for a contingency approach to this research stream, which moves beyond the basic question “does it pay to be green?” and instead asks “when does it pay to be green?” In answering this call, we provide a meta-analytic review of CEP–CFP literature in which we identify potential moderators to the CEP–CFP relationship including environmental performance type (e.g., reactive vs. proactive performance), firm characteristics (e.g., large vs. small firms), and methodological issues (e.g., self-report measures). By analyzing these contingencies, this study attempts to provide a basis on which to draw conclusions regarding some inconsistencies and debates in the CEP–CFP research. Some of the results of the moderator analysis suggest that small firms benefit from environmental performance as much or more than large firms, US firms seem to benefit more than international counterparts, and environmental performance seems to have the strongest influence on market-measures of financial performance.     

When Do Relationships Pay Off for Small Retailers? Exploring Targets and Contexts to Understand the Value of Relationship Marketing

Relationship marketing has taken on a significant role in both retail practice and academic study. However, from the introduction of the concept of relationship marketing into the literature scholars have noted that relationship building may not be beneficial to all firms under all conditions. In this study, we investigate this issue attempting to gain a greater understanding of the value of relationship marketing activities across targets (i.e., customers and suppliers) and within contexts (i.e., competitive intensity and three elements of market dynamism) on a retailer's ability to develop the capability of market responsiveness. Our findings, based upon a sample of 172 small retailers, demonstrate that differences do in fact exist in the value delivery to retailers from relationships with different targets and across different contexts in which the retailer operates. As such, the results of this study extend the extant relationship marketing literature, refining our understanding of the value of relationship marketing. Implications for academics and practitioners are discussed.