Are people emotionally aroused by hypothetical medical scenarios in experiments? An eye tracking study with pupil dilation

Background: Many studies on the communication of medical risks use hypothetical medical scenarios. The results of these scenarios should have sufficient predictive accuracy to be generalized to real life; thus, it is important to know whether hypothetical medical scenarios work and whether there is a relationship between risk level and emotional arousal. Methods: In an eye tracking experiment (N = 67), we investigated the influence of a simple hypothetical medical scenario on pupil dilation, a measure of emotional arousal. In this medical scenario, the participants were shown three risk levels (low, middle, and high) and had to estimate the probability that a hypothetical patient has colon cancer. They were also given a non-medical scenario that controlled for changes in illumination and cognitive workload. Therefore, we supposed that the difference in pupil diameter between the medical and the non-medical scenario was due to emotional arousal. Results: We found that our hypothetical medical scenario had a significant effect on pupil diameter. The mean values of the mean pupil diameter in the first fifth of the fixations were higher for all risk levels in the medical scenario than in the non-medical scenario. In a more detailed analysis of the difference in pupil diameters between the two scenarios, we detected that, for the high-risk level, the emotional difference values (between the medical and non-medical scenarios) differed significantly from zero. Furthermore, we found that higher risk levels lead to higher emotional arousal and higher probability estimates. Conclusions: Even simple hypothetical medical scenarios cause emotional arousal. Thus, hypothetical medical scenarios work, and the results of studies not using real patients can be generalized to real medical situations.     

Five charges against the precautionary principle

We defend the precautionary principle against five common charges, namely that it is ill-defined, absolutist, and a value judgement, increases risk-taking, and marginalizes science. We argue, first, that the precautionary principle is, in principle, no more vague or ill-defined than other decision principles and like them it can be made precise through elaboration and practice. Second, the precautionary principle need not be absolutist in the way that has been claimed. A way to avoid this is through combining the precautionary principle with a specification of the degree of scientific evidence required to trigger precaution, and/or with some version of the de minimis rule. Third, the precautionary principle does not lead to increased risk-taking, unless the framing is too narrow, and then the same problem applies to other decision rules as well. Fourth, the precautionary principle is indeed value-based, but only to the same extent as other decision rules. Fifth and last, the precautionary principle is not unscientific other than in the weak sense of not being exclusively based on science. In that sense all decision rules are unscientific.     

Organizational change cynicism: The role of employee involvement

Organizational change efforts can bring about a range of outcomes: some intended, such as organizational survival and profitability, and some unintended, such as heightened levels of organizational change cynicism (OCC) among employees. This article focuses on processes for managing OCC: we examine the role of information sharing and involvement in decision making as ways to lessen employee reports of OCC. While both of these strategies have the potential to be effective, they rest on a significant assumption—namely, that employees will enthusiastically embrace any opportunities to become involved. In this research, we investigate this assumption through an analysis of the relationship between an employee's willingness to become involved (”active orientation”) on employee reports of their OCC. We find, using data from 1,214 public‐sector employees, that an active orientation toward involvement plays a significant role as a moderator in reducing employee reports of OCC. The findings suggest that HR practitioners concerned about OCC should encourage their line managers to adopt a participatory style of management (information sharing, involvement in decision making), especially in those workplaces where employees are more likely to embrace the opportunities for involvement. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Demand chain management in the container shipping service industry

The growing service sector in the global economy signifies the need for applying service science to study the interdisciplinary nature of services. In particular, container shipping service is considered a key enabler of international trade and global economic development. To strengthen the role of shipping in supporting global seaborne trade, it is highly desirable to identify the determinants that influence the total capacity of the shipping industry, explain how the related business activities (e.g., demand for shipping service, vessel price, fleet size, etc.) are linked to the demand for container shipping service, and empirically verify the findings. This study builds on the demand chain management paradigm to analyze the service capacity of the container shipping industry. We establish a path-analytic model to explain how shipping demand affects such shipping-related variables as vessel price and to evaluate their effects on the service capacity of the industry. The empirically-tested model provides managers and researchers with insights on how to enhance the coordination and integration of a series of shipping-related variables from shipping demand to capacity management in the container shipping service industry.     

Large established firms entry into franchising: an exploratory investigation of strategic and operational issues

Although franchising is traditionally associated with newly emerging businesses which need to finance growth, this marketing technique is being increasingly utilized by large established firms as a method of business development. This article analyses the business objectives which led a sample of such firms in the UK to introduce franchising as a means of channel management. The modes of franchising-including the master franchise-selected by these firms as well as their operational and organizational experiences are investigated. In particular, there is an examination of the major managerial/cultural issues which these firms encountered in trying to reconcile the decentralized organization and operating methods implicit in the franchising concept with the centralized decision making and organization of a corporate concern. The implications for management of this dichotomy are explored.     

Romancing the past: Heritage visiting and the nostalgic consumer

Over the past decade, there has been growing interest in nostalgia and consumption experiences on the part of a small group of consumer researchers. This article offers an insight into the nostalgic experiences gained through consuming history at a contemporary British “living” museum. The findings of the research focus on two types of nostalgic behavior, which are identified as existential and aesthetic. Differences in the nostalgic reaction are conceptualized in relation to such factors as the quantity and quality of the individual's role repertoire, the experience of alienation in the present, and the extent and quality of social contact. The article aims to offer a perspective that draws upon both existing work in related fields and the findings of the research in order to contextualize nostalgia as an experiential factor behind the consumption of recreated history in the living interactive museum. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Produktbegleitende Dienstleistungen international vermarkten

Immer mehr Industrieunternehmen m?chten ihre produktbegleitenden Dienstleistungen auch international anbieten. Was müssen sie beachten, damit die Vermarktung im Ausland gelingt? Eine empirische Studie analysiert die Erfolgsfaktoren und gibt Handlungsempfehlungen, wie Unternehmen die Internationalisierung von produktbegleitenden Dienstleistungen vorantreiben k?nnen.     

Research Note: The slow growth of foreign direct investment in the Soviet Union successor states

This note reviews the statistical evidence on foreign direct investment (FDI) in the countries of the former Soviet Union taking into account data from both host countries and countries of origin. The main characteristics of this FDI and its variation among the successor states of the Soviet Union are established. The contribution of FDI to economic transition is so far limited to some sectors and regions, and unlikely to accelerate in the near future.
JEL classification: F21, F23, P31.     

Structural replacement or structural inducement: government ties of Chinese business executives

We suggest that the structural replacement thesis, which proposes that managers in Chinese nonstate-owned enterprises (NSOEs) possess more government ties than managers in Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs), is theoretically incomplete because it considers only the motivation of managers of NSOEs. The extensiveness of social ties is influenced also by the capability and opportunity for social actors to cultivate these social ties. We introduce the structural inducement thesis, which holds that SOE managers have more government ties than do NSOE managers, as an alternative to the structural replacement thesis. Our analysis of 250 Chinese managers' ties supports this structural inducement thesis. The theoretical and applied implications of these findings are discussed. Copyright © 2009 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.