Personal characteristics of salespeople and the attractiveness of alternative rewards

How do personal characteristics of salespeople affect their desire for the various rewards available to them? Do younger salespeople desire different types and levels of rewards than older salespeople? Are there differences due to job tenure, marital status, family size, and so forth? In this article, the authors attempt to answer these questions. Based on an extensive investigation of the industrial sales forces from two large companies, the authors examine the relationship between personal characteristics and the sales force's valence for various rewards. Although some of the findings are consistent with current sales management practices, some are not, suggesting that present day thinking with respect to the design and administration of rewards may need more careful scrutiny.     

Serie → Nursing English Diagnose: Krebs

Zusammenfasung   Krebs ist bei uns die zweith?ufigste Todesursache, an der j?hrlich circa 340.000 Menschen erkranken. N?chster 5-Tage-Intensivkurs: 1. bis 5. Dezember 2008 „Communication with patients in hospital“     

Involving consumers in the work of a data linkage research unit

We describe and reflect on the work of a Consumer Panel for a data linkage research unit in Wales, and show how the members are inputting into plans for the future. Our work is centred on conducting health‐related data linkage research using anonymously linked, routinely collected data from across Wales via the Secure Anonymous Information Linkage system. In recognition of the importance of including patients and the public in health‐related research, we have established a Consumer Panel to strengthen this voice in our work, and there are currently 10 members (4 men and 6 women) from across Wales, with a range of health‐related areas of interest. A review of Panel activities was carried out after the first year, and all members were invited to provide their views via a questionnaire survey using structured and free‐text responses. Initial feedback, obtained after the first meeting, was tentatively positive, and the questionnaire survey identified practical measures for improvement and future work. We have found the Consumer Panel to be a valuable addition to our work in the rapidly growing area of data linkage research. The views of Panel members provide a positive outlook and a fresh, and sometimes unexpected, perspective on various issues. The lessons we have learned, and our experience of involving the Panel in various aspects of our work, may be of value to others seeking to work with consumers in data linkage research, to researchers in general and to consumers themselves.     

Should Cookie Monster adopt a healthy lifestyle or continue to indulge? Insights into brand icons

Developing a brand icon has been a way for marketers to humanize and forge relationships with consumers. Icon development takes time. During this time, marketers have to face how much they stay true and consistent with their icons and how much they allow their icons to adapt to cultural changes in the marketplace. Little is known about how consumers respond to changing icons, and even less is known about whether there may be certain consumer groups that are more or less receptive to such changes. Four experiments and qualitative interviews were undertaken to gain insights into these issues. People who have a low need to belong were most impacted by changes in the icon, with effects most evident among consumers with a fearful attachment style. Feelings of rejection were found to amplify these effects. These findings have implications both for theory and practice.     

Financing constraints and US cross‐listing

This study investigates whether relaxation of firms' financial constraints is an important outcome of the US cross‐listing mechanism. We use the association between investment spending and cash flow to test for the presence and importance of firms' financing constraints. Consistent with the bonding hypothesis, the results suggest that US exchange and private placement cross‐listings significantly alleviate firms' financing constraints. In addition, the financial benefits associated with exchange listings are larger than those associated with private listings, while on the other hand, over‐the‐counter programs do not improve capital allocation. The study also shows that US exchange cross‐listing benefits have not been eroded by the enactment of the Sarbanes‐Oxley (SOX) Act in 2002. Copyright © 2014 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Environmental Benefits of Organic Wine: Exploring Consumer Willingness-to-Pay Premiums?

Consumers and the producers have shown interest in organics, but there exist gaps in their common interest. Producers require premiums for their products based on the peculiarity of their production circumstances and the perceived benefits inherent in their products. Predicting consumer willingness to pay a premium for the environmental benefits of organics (WTPe) is a challenge and is of interest in this study. The contingent valuation method was used to gather information on WTPe from a sample that yielded 2,099 surveys. The econometric test ordered probit regression and other analyses were carried out. On average, respondents indicated WTP 23% premium. The proposed hypotheses were tested, and all were accepted except social demographic variables that presented a mixed outcome. The results have implications for consumer sensitization and enlightenment programs of the wine industry, wine market segmentation, and government’s climate change policy. This study is exploratory and has presented a snapshot scenario. Confirmatory and longitudinal studies are recommended to validate this study’s outcomes.     

The Unemployment Effects of Proposed Changes in Social Security's “Normal Retirement Age”

This paper identifies and analyzes an inherent conflict between some proposed U. S. Social Security reform measures, which would encourage delayed retirement decisions, and the objective of minimizing the economy's unemployment rate. Using recent demographic trends in the age composition of the U.S. labor force, the study suggests that such proposed U.S. Social Security reform measures may actually increase the economy's unemployment rate. It concludes that measures to encourage older workers would relieve labor market pressures (while also helping the Social Security system) if and only if unemployment was persistently near the non-accelerating inflation rate of unemployment (NAIRU). However, in an economy with above NAIRU unemployment, which has been the case most often in recent years, the opposite Social Security policy logic would apply. JEL Classification H557