Retail fairness: Exploring consumer perceptions of fairness towards retailers’ marketing tactics

The concept of fairness has received great attention in consumer behavior research lately. However, the focus of these studies has mainly been the understanding of fairness in terms of pricing rather than exploring the consumers’ perceptions of fairness itself. This study explores the consumers’ perceptions of fairness as an outcome of a retailer’s marketing tactics. Based on 36 in-depth interviews this study submits a conceptualization of retail fairness from the consumers’ point-of-view. The concept of retail fairness constitutes of three dimensions and nine sub-dimensions, expanding our knowledge of the construct. The study posits a crucial link between increased honesty, ethical, and moral behavior and the understanding of retail fairness. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.     

关于加工贸易的争议性观点

长期以来,我国加工贸易发展经历了一个曲折的过程。因为人们对加工贸易的认识由肯定到否定,到再次肯定,几经反复。由此造成的影响则表现为我国对加工贸易政策的几次大调整。例如调整出台的加工贸易企业设置保证金台帐制度和加工贸易区政策。而政策的摇摆对加工贸易影响极大。回顾一下当年的一些争论观点,根据国内外经贸形势的变化和今后发展大趋势,可能有益于我们把握好今后加工贸易的发展方向和适度规模。     

Mainland China and western trade credits

The author discusses the question whether autarky will remain a central national policy goal in Peking after the present ruling group relinquishes power. He comes to the conclusion that, although China’s foreign trade particularly with the Western world will expand rapidly, Peking will continue its abstinence from foreign trade credits.     

Supplier price concessions: A longitudinal empirical study

The competitive nature of today’s business-to-business markets requires companies to continually look for ways to reduce costs; one of the easiest of which is to demand price reductions from suppliers. In this research, price reduction demands and the corresponding concessions given by 238 suppliers to the six major North American Automotive original equipment manufacturers during 2001–2007 are analyzed utilizing a simultaneous equation model. The three stage least squares estimates indicate that suppliers are willing to give higher price concessions when buyers align specific interfacing characteristics and processes with their suppliers so that the suppliers perceive greater opportunities for future business and profit. These results provide, for the first time, an understanding of the dynamic nature of the impact of buyer–supplier relational components on supplier price concessions.

日本大地震后对中日经贸关系的影响

中日经贸往来历史悠久,日本地震对中日经贸关系的发展产生一定影响,本文回顾了中日经贸往来的密切关系、阐述日本经济现状及进一步分析地震后对中日经贸关系的影响。     

生态纺织品——国际纺织品贸易的新潮流

纺织品是人们生活的必需品，随着人类生态环境受到威胁的日益加剧，人们的环保意识在不断提高，对纺织品质量的认识也越来越深刻，传统意义上的实用性、美观性．耐用性已不能完全满足消费的要求，而安全性、卫生性日益受到关注，近年来，世界各国尤其是欧美等发达国家相继制定了一系列环保法规和标准，对进口纺织品实施安全检测，限制了非生态纺织品     

金融服务贸易自由化及我国的对策

我国加入世贸组织以来,对外贸易取得了快速发展,但相对于我国的货物贸易来讲,服务贸易中的金融服务和保险服务的发展状况与对外贸易总的发展状况不相符,已成为制约我国服务贸易发展的重要因素。我国应争取在WTO框架内更好地发展金融服务,有效利用世贸组织关于金融服务的相关规定,对金融和保险等产业进行保护,政府应积极介入,改变经营战略,有效监管,以确保金融市场的平衡发展。     

The US trade policy towards the EC in the Tokyo round

The seventh round of GATT negotiations was brought to a conclusion in the spring of this year. One of the objects for the USA was to correct the trend of world trade which had been to its disadvantage. Its main concern was to bring about a settlement of the trade relations with the western industrialized states and the EC in particular. Has the USA achieved these aims?     

Distribution: Japan's Hidden Advantage

For the exporter the distribution channel is critical. It determines the presentation of products to the customer. It is often argued that the complexity of Japanese distribution channels is an important barrier to Western exporters. Whilst this is true, Japanese exporters faced an equal hurdle in exporting to the West. The key to overcoming this hurdle has been a strategy of significant investment by Japanese companies in distribution. This strategy is a central – although often unrecognised – factor in the success of Japanese exporters to the West. It is Japan's "hidden advantage".     

Japan's success: Luck or skill?

Can the success of Japanese automakers be attributed to skill or luck? How has American business answered that question—and how valid is the answer?     

Mistaken Inferences from Advertising Conversations: A Modest Research Agenda

I review the changing advertising landscape and suggest that the definition of advertising has inherently changed. Using the current advertising context, I develop research questions that consumer behavior scholars are well poised to address. This research agenda is rooted in real-world observations about advertising and can help us develop new theories about when, how, and why advertising influences and persuades consumers. A recurring theme in this article is that consumers may be misled due to information overload from multiple channels and sources. I use the advertising-as-conversation metaphor to derive hypotheses and test one such hypothesis in an experiment. I end with a summary and discussion of advertising impact measurement.     

Inefficient trade patterns: Excessive trade, cross-hauling and dumping

I study an example of a competitive environment in which trade occurs in a sequential manner. In this example, a country with a stable demand may suffer from trade with a country with unstable demand, there may be too much trade, a country may import and export the same good in the same period (cross-hauling) and dumping may occur. The timing of delivery is important. When delivery occurs before trade (delivery to stocks), trade improves welfare, there is dumping but no cross-hauling. When delivery occurs after trade (delivery to order), trade may reduce welfare and cross-hauling may occur.     

加工贸易:4000亿捧场中国外贸

2003年加工贸易为中国外贸的蓬勃发展立下了汗马功劳,其发展态势也呈现出鲜明的特点。世界经济的复苏,全球生产要素的优化重组,以电子信息产品为代表的产业转移是中国加工贸易得以迅猛发展的主要原因。     

In search of WTO trade effects: Preferential trade agreements promote trade strongly, but unevenly

The literature measuring the effects of WTO membership on trade flows has produced remarkably diverse results. Rose (2004) reports a wide range of empirical specifications that produce no WTO effects. Tomz et al. (2007) use Rose's data but include de facto WTO membership, to find positive WTO trade effects. Rose (2005) also produced positive WTO trade effects after accounting for the diverse trade effects produced by individual preferential trade agreements (PTAs). When Subramanian and Wei (2007) emphasize general equilibrium trade effects by controlling for multilateral resistance, they find strong WTO trade effects only for industrialized countries. Subramanian and Wei (2007), however, account neither for unobserved heterogeneity among trading partners, nor for differences in trade effects across PTAs (which could inflate WTO estimates). We unify the Rose, Tomz et al., and Subramanian and Wei specifications in one comprehensive approach that minimizes omitted variable bias to show that all specifications produce one consistent result: WTO effects on trade flows are not statistically significant, while PTAs produce strong but uneven trade effects. Extending the gravity model to address specific avenues in which WTO may have affected trade flows, we find that WTO membership boosts trade prior to PTA formation and increases trade among proximate developing countries (at the expense of distant trade). An augmented gravity model that accounts for WTO terms-of-trade theory shows that countries with greater incentives to bargain for tariff reductions before WTO accession experience positive and significant subsequent WTO trade effects.     

Convenience and satisfaction: mediation of fairness and quality

This study investigates the role of service fairness and service quality in the relationship between service convenience types (decision, access, transaction, benefit and post-benefit) and customer satisfaction. Results show that service convenience has a significant positive impact on service fairness. Both service fairness and service quality mediate the relationship between service convenience and customer satisfaction. This study provides useful insights to both researchers and practitioners on the role of service convenience in improving service fairness, service quality and customer satisfaction. Findings of this study contribute to the literature by empirically investigating the impact of service convenience types on service fairness, service quality and customer satisfaction; and by examining the mediating role of service fairness and service quality between convenience types and customer satisfaction.     

United States concessions in the Kennedy Round and short-run labour adjustment costs: Further evidence

The intent of this article is to add further empirical evidence to the frequently espoused hypothesis that the decision-making process used by U.S. tariff negotiators is heavily weighted by their assessment of the likely labor displacement effects that trade liberalization may have on domestic interests. Using data on 477 workers displaced from six different industries the results demonstrate that industries with high labor adjustment costs received greater exceptions from the across-the-board tariff cut in the Kennedy Round of the Multilateral Trade Negotiations than industries with lower adjustment costs.