The aesthetic fidelity effect

Product aesthetics is a powerful means for achieving competitive advantage. Yet most studies to date have focused on the role of aesthetics in shaping pre-purchase preferences and have failed to consider how product aesthetics affects post-purchase processes and consumers' usage behavior. This research focuses on the relationship between aesthetics and usage behavior in the context of durable products. Studies 1A to 1C provide evidence of a positive effect of product aesthetics on usage intensity using market data from the car and the fashion industries. Study 2 corroborates these findings and shows that the more intensive use of highly aesthetic products may lead to the acquisition of product-specific usage skills that form the basis for a cognitive lock-in. Hence, consumers are less likely to switch away from products with appealing designs, an effect that is labeled as the ‘aesthetic fidelity’ effect. Study 3 addresses an alternative explanation for the ‘aesthetic fidelity effect’ based on mood and motivation but finds that the ‘aesthetic fidelity’ effect is indeed determined by usage intensity. Finally, Study 4 identifies a boundary condition of the positive effect of product aesthetics on product usage, showing that it is limited to durable products. In sum, this research demonstrates that the effects of product aesthetics extend beyond the pre-consumption stage and have an enduring impact on people's consumption experiences.     

Should sequels differ from original movies in pre-launch advertising schedule? Lessons from consumers' online search activity

Sequels have become a profitable strategy in the U.S. motion picture industry because of their strong name recognition. However, while the established positioning of a sequel may help insulate it from competing firms' advertising messages, its familiarity may cause moviegoers to be more easily satiated with advertising from the sequel. Therefore, this study examines how sequels differ from original concept movies in terms of their ad effectiveness. We focus our analysis on pre-launch periods, given these periods' importance in shaping the financial outcomes of motion pictures. We consider the weekly online search volume of a movie as a measure of consumer interest in it, and thus as an intermediate response to pre-launch advertising. We then develop a model that assumes ad effectiveness can decline, due to copy and repetition wearout, and increase, due to forgetting, over time. We find that copy wearout is greater for original movies, while repetition wearout and forgetting are greater for sequels. These findings suggest that sequels should allocate more in early pre-launch periods and less immediately before release, relative to originals, to maximize pre-launch consumer interest.     

The Taiwan hat industry: Pre-war roots of the post-war miracle

Taiwan's pre-war hat industry was a precursor of the export-oriented living-room factory industries which played a leading role in Taiwan's post-1960 economic miracle. After World War I, success in the global hat trade required quick reaction to ever-changing fashion. Taiwan's hat industry was based on a flexible subcontracting system which could respond quickly to fashion change and ramp up production at short notice. Taiwan's early hat industry has been overshadowed by its larger agricultural exporting industries, but the hat industry itself was, by many standards, large and influential. Evidence suggests that Taiwan's early experience in the hat trade was a key factor behind Taiwan's later post-war success.     

Fast fashion: response to changes in the fashion industry

The fashion apparel industry has significantly evolved, particularly over the last 20 years. The changing dynamics of the fashion industry have forced retailers to desire low cost and flexibility in design, quality, and speed to market, key strategies to maintain a profitable position in the increasingly demanding market. This article reviews the literature on changes that have happened in the fashion apparel industry since the 1990s, highlighting the emergence of a concept of ‘throwaway’ or fast fashion. It describes fast fashion from a supplier as well as a consumer's perspective, and draws attention to several potential research issues.     

The Ethics of Counterfeiting in the Fashion Industry: Quality,Credence and Profit Issues

One of the greatest problems facing luxury goods firms in a globalizing market is that of counterfeiting. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the different types of counterfeiting that take place in thefashion industry and the ethical issues raised. We argue that the problem partly lies in the industry itself. Copying of designs is endemic and condoned, which raises several ethical dilemmas in passing judgment on the practice of counterfeiting. We analyze the ethical issues in a number of different types of counterfeiting encountered in the fashion industry. We conclude with some observations on the general implications for ethics in intellectual property rights.     

Competitive strategies and performance in technology-based industries

A model is proposed for relating a technology-based firm's investments in R&D and marketing to its level of performance. The model is based on a homothetic performance function form that is maintained to best represent unique differences among the competitive strategies of firms or groups of firms within an industry. It also permits explicit estimation of returns to scale with respect to investments in R&D and marketing for the industry as a whole. The empirical analysis strongly supports the existence of a heterogenous competitive structure in a technology-based industry with the returns-to-scale estimates varying among the industries studied. The model implies that desirable increases in competition occur through the interaction of individual firms and possibly strategic groups. It also implies the possibility of less than perfect substitution of resources across competitive strategies within an industry. Thus future models of competition should not be based entirely on size-related measures.     

基于快速响应的敏捷时装供应链的研究

伴随着"快速反应型"服装企业的出现,客户也迫切需要一个高效的供应链系统。由于时装市场变化迅速,时装工业成败取决于供应链的柔性和响应性。响应性意味着企业的产品是进入市场时间短、能快速转换生产能力和把消费者的偏爱体现到设计过程中。传统供应链企业组织结构和需求预测驱动的供应链,已不适合满足以多变和混乱需求为特征的时装市场的挑战。为有效应对挑战,要在时装工业中建立基于快速响应战略的敏捷供应链。此供应链既能保证速度,又能控制成本,若考虑隐藏和非柔性等不同的成本,时装供应链系统的柔性、敏捷性和响应性优势将更加突出。     

中国企业对非洲制造业投资路径研究

当前非洲国家普遍谋求推进工业化,特别是希望引进制造业领域的直接投资,以提升自身工业生产水平,创造更多就业机会。我国对非洲制造业的投资在过去十多年获得快速增长,但同时也存在明显的"分散、无序"问题。基于非洲制造业现状及中国企业对非洲制造业投资实践,本文提出"进口替代"型和"出口导向"型两种适用于对非洲制造业投资的路径,认为应当加强中国企业对非洲投资总体规划,结合非洲各国具体国情,加大宏观指导和政策支持力度,引导我国企业采取合适的投资路径,提升对非洲制造业投资的质量与成效。     

Signaling for more money: The roles of founders' human capital and investor prominence in resource acquisition across different stages of firm development

We use signaling theory to explain how new ventures effectively signal future prospects to acquire external resources. Based on a sample of 235 new ventures drawn from a unique dataset combining multiple sources, we examine the signals of founders' human capital (i.e., education, industry experience, and founding experience) and investor prominence and their influence on the amount of external funding received across two stages of venture funding. We find that founders' founding experience and education have the greatest effects for acquiring first-round financing, but in later stages, only the signaling effect from education remains. Furthermore, we find important interactions between founders' human capital and investor prominence in the second round of funding. By utilizing lagged funding information, we show that different types of signals have a dynamic and temporal impact on new ventures' resource acquisition, including the persistence of some signals and the temporariness of others.     

May the force drag your dynamic logo: The brand work-energy effect

We introduce force in dynamic brand logos as a cue to brand work and subsequent brand energy; constructs we develop and distinguish from brand engagement. We argue the phenomenon observed is due to a brand work-energy effect, whereby the depiction of a drag force (opposite direction to motion) in brand logos enhances consumer judgments of brand work, which results in greater perceived brand energy. Taking a Newtonian physics lens, we argue that the presence of a drag force within a dynamic brand logo positively affects an individual's judgment of the brand's work (effort and trying hard) and brand's energy (momentum, power, and drive) and, subsequently, their brand attitude, purchase intention, and actual behavior. Across four experiments we manipulate brand logo design through the absence of force without motion (static logo), the absence of force with motion (kinematic logo), and the presence of force with motion (i.e., gravitational, spring, air resistance, and tension force; dynamic logo). Results demonstrate that the presence of a drag force in brand logos increases brand attitude and behavior. We demonstrate that brand work and brand energy, rather than brand engagement, sequentially explain attitudinal and behavioral judgments derived from brand logo drag force through a brand work-energy effect and a brand energy halo effect. We also determine that a thrust force of air propulsion results in attenuation of our brand work-energy effect, with high magnitude of a drag force enhancing the effect.     

How optimal distinctiveness affects new ventures' failure risk: A contingency perspective

In this article, we apply the concept of optimal distinctiveness to test whether category spanning has a nonlinear effect on new ventures' risk to fail. We argue that by being optimally distinct, i.e., by attaining a level of category spanning that allows new ventures to benefit from balancing the competing needs of conformity with and differentiation from competitors, new ventures can improve their survival chances. In addition, we argue that the relevance of optimal distinctiveness varies with a venture's age and a category's density. We tested our hypotheses using data from 1668 metal bands that were founded in the United Kingdom between 1967 and 2005. The results indicate that optimal distinctiveness is relevant to new ventures' failure risk. Moreover, we show that venture age attenuates the relevance of optimal distinctiveness, whereas category density strengthens that factor's relevance.     

The assumptions of Jacob Viner's theory of customs unions

The paper starts by presenting a method for the decomposition of the impact of a customs union into the familiar trade-diversion, trade-creation and consumption effects. This is used as a framework within which Viner's original customs-union analysis is investigated. The issues examined are whether Viner's analysis indeed makes the assumptions about production and consumption which are attributed to it by conventional wisdom; whether the assumptions Viner did make were consistent; and the possible explanations of Viner's analytical course. The investigation is supported by references to Viner's analytic contributions beyond the sphere of customs unions.     

The Niehans paradox,flexible exchange rates,and macroeconomic stability

This paper re-examines Dornbusch's suggestion that monetary expansion under a floating rate system will not cause a temporary decline in economic activity — the Niehans paradox — because households will cut their saving to maintain consumption spending on domestic goods. Despite this terms of trade effect on saving, it turns out that devaluation in the standard Keynesian model, in which trade flows, however, respond to the exchange rate with a simple distributed lag, produces a temporary decline in economic activity under certain plausible conditions. Consequently, the Niehans paradox still can arise if domestic expenditures respond sluggishly to lower interest rates.     

货币替代与贸易净值扰动性分析

货币替代对我国贸易水平是一种扰动性因素,其在不同的滞后期对贸易净值有不同的效应。货币替代的存在使贸易净值水平波动加大。要从货币替代的根源着手,从非贸易外汇来源分析,采取加强资本账户管理,控制通货膨胀率及使人民币国际化等措施来预防货币替代。     

工业设计、ODM与我国出口产品价值提升:作用机理与实证检验

我国外贸从OEM向ODM升级过程中,工业设计起到非常重要的促进作用。本文详细论证了工业设计对制造业发展、企业盈利能力增强和外贸产业升级的作用机理,并以与工业设计关系密切的出口产品价格指数反映出口产品价值的变化,用1986-2010年间的时间序列数据进行实证检验。协整检验和误差修正模型估计结果表明,在长期均衡关系和短期波动两种统计模型中,工业设计能力均对出口产品价值具有显著正向作用。我国需要进一步深化对工业设计重要作用的认识,构建包含政府、企业和协会等多层面的工业设计发展支撑体系。     

Exchange-listing effects on a firm's cost of equity capital

Matched pairs (based on asset size and industry) of a sample of exchange-listed and over-the-counter (OTC) firms are utilized to test for the existence of a statistically significant difference between them with respect to their cost of equity capital. It is found that exchange-listed firm's cost of equity capital (alternatively measured by the systematic risk and the total risk associated with a firm's rate of return) is significantly less than that of comparable OTC firms.     

Financial determinants of systematic risk in real estate investment trusts

Financial theory and empirical evidence suggest that a firm's systematic, or market related, risk is related to its financial conditions. This study empirically investigates the financial determinants of systematic risk for Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs). The study is an examination of sample of 32 REITs for the period 1976–1978. The results indicate that systematic risk varies directly with financial leverage, business risk, and advisor fee. The explanatory power of the relationship between systematic risk and financial variables exceeds that of previous studies wherein firms were pooled across industry groups. The higher explanatory power observed even with limited data suggests that better estimates of coefficients of financial determinants of systematic risk may be obtained through analysis conducted on an industry by industry basis. Furthermore, such industry-specific analysis provides useful results to practicing financial managers in their financial policy considerations. With the knowledge of how the financial decisions affect the firm's systematic risk, a manager may be able to manipulate those variables so as to reduce the systematic risk for his or her firm and thus increase the market value of the firm's securities.     

休假制度调整对旅行社经营的影响

国家休假制度调整对旅游业的发展影响深刻,对旅行社经营的影响巨大。休假制度的调整减少了旅游高峰的压力,长线路产品受到重创,短线路产品火爆,民俗线路升温,旅游者的旅行方式改变影响了旅行社的经营。旅游社应针对休假制度调整带来的变化,调整自己的经营方案,创新产品,深挖市场,确保旅游业健康发展。     

Moral consequences of a seller's market: Polish experience

The article is an analysis of the moral consequences of permanent and major shortages in supply for producers, distributors, and especially consumers. The analysis is based on the author's long experience, obtained in Poland during observations and studies of the behaviour of economic units and consumers. The conclusions presented can be generally applied to centrally planned economies. Similar studies are lacking in countries characterized by an `economics of shortage'. Immoral behaviour is reflected in the negligence of the socially accepted system of values and moral norms. In ‘economics of shortage’ this system has been largely destroyed, making moral evaluation of behaviour rather difficult. The seller's market puts society in a situation characterized by a conflict between the law and moral norms; it restricts distributive justice; makes it easier to infringe upon somebody's property; induces fraudulent activities to the detriment of the consumer; restricts the individual's freedom and the consumer's sovereignty; dehumanizes the consumption process; violates human dignity; carries a threat for family life and generates interhuman conflicts. Decisions concerning production and products do not make sufficient allowances for the needs of end users in the sphere of quality, assortment, information transmitted to consumers, and new product development. There exist, in parallel, different systems of allocation of goods and services: administrative allotment, government-controlled outlets, grey and black markets. The purchase of a product itself stretches in time and involves considerable obstacles. The consumer is forced to continue searching and queuing, compulsory substitution, compulsory spending of money and compulsory savings. All this paves the way for unethical behaviour of both sellers and consumers. Among consumers there can be seen symptoms of alienation from the market.     

Exchange rates and prices: The historical evidence

The paper briefly surveys the historical evolution of the purchasing power parity theory (PPP) as it was developed, beginning with Gerard de Malynes in 1601. It draws attention, indeed, for the first time, to Xenophon Zolotas' original contribution to the PPP and analyzes Zolotas' two qualitative factors which, in addition to Cassel's three quantitative factors, better explain the determination of the price of foreign currency. Finally, the paper concludes that changes in the magnitude and the degree of intensity of Zolotas' qualitative factors account for a good part of this explanation.