Consumption of Movie Experience: Cognitive and Affective Approaches

This study examines the structural relationships among film quality, value, and satisfaction on the perspective of moviegoers. The experience economy concept is employed as the theoretical framework, where moviegoers’ cognitive and affective evaluations are projected in fulfilling their perceived value. Moviegoers’ perceived movie attributes and experiences are assessed to evaluate the moviegoers’ satisfactions through functional and emotional values. In particular, this article investigates how four dimensions of experience mediate the effect of movie attributes on perceived value and satisfaction. A total of 565 samples were analyzed with structural equation modeling to investigate the relationship of ‘quality—value—satisfaction.’ The findings show that two movie attributes (core and peripheral) affect three dimensions of experience (entertainment, educational, and escapist), which in turn influence functional and emotional values, and moviegoers’ satisfaction. The results also confirm that emotional value is a more powerful predictor of moviegoers’ satisfaction than functional value.     

Three current account balances: A “Semi-Structuralist” interpretation

Three current account imbalances – one very large deficit (the United States) and two surpluses (Japan and the Euro area) – are subjected to a minimalist structural interpretation. Though simple, this interpretation enables us to assess how much of each of the imbalances require a real exchange rate adjustment. According to the estimates, a large part of the U.S. current account deficit (nearly 2 percentage points of the 2006 deficit of 5(1/2)% of GDP) will undergo an adjustment process that involves real depreciation in its exchange rate. For Japan, a little more than 1 percentage point (of GDP) of the current account surplus is found to require an exchange rate movement (real appreciation) as the surpluses adjust down. For the Euro area, less than half a percentage point of its current account surplus is found to require an adjustment via real appreciation.     

Field publishing performance of U.S. economics departments

Conclusion The purpose of this study is to reduce information costs in the market for graduate education in economics and the market for Ph.D. economists by providing information on research concentration in each of 19 fields for 1980–1986. Some variation in publishing performance across fields is found in highly regarded universities. Unexpected faculty strength is discovered in some middle level departments for particular fields. Among middle- and lower-ranked departments, substantial publishing diversity across fields is evident.     

Social reformers and regulation: the prohibition of cigarettes in the United States and Canada

Anti-smoking legislation in North America reached its peak early in the last century. In 1903, the Canadian Parliament passed a resolution to prohibit the manufacture, importation, and sale of cigarettes. Fifteen states in the United States banned the sale of cigarettes and 37 states considered prohibitory legislation. In both the United States and Canada, prohibition was part of the Progressive Movement. Cigarette prohibition was special interest regulation, but it was also the means by which crusaders sought to alter public behavior. In the United States, the cigarette lobby opposed cigarette prohibition while in Canada the French-Canadians offered the most vociferous opposition. An active Progressive Movement was the necessary condition for generating interest in prohibition, while the anti-prohibition forces played a significant role later in the legislative process.     

Privatization in China's industry

This paper adopts property rights and organization theory perspectives to analyze the process of privatization of state enterprises and performance of newly created shareholding corporations in China. Relying on case study information, the paper concludes that although the shareholding corporations have contributed, to a certain extent, to better performance, their potentials have not been fully realized due to various economic environmental and ideological constraints.     

A Study of the Attitude toward Convergent Products: A Focus on the Consumer Perception of Functionalities

The convergent product is an increasingly important phenomenon in the marketplace. The convergent product allows the developer to include more and more diverse functionalities into their products, which can satisfy a broad range of consumer needs. However, failures of convergent products arouse the need to understand its functionalities, and the optimal combination of functionalities and their relationships to attitude and purchase intention. In addition, because convergent product has the potential to offer more diverse functionality, we consider if this will have impacts on instrumental and emotional needs fulfillment and attitude and purchase intention. Additionally, consumer innovativeness was examined to ascertain if there were differences among consumers on their classification of the functionalities, or if it will moderate functional diversity, needs fulfillment, and product attitude. Using the Kano model, this study examined the nature of these relationships by examining the functionalities of a smartphone. Overall, our results show that the convergent products that include functionalities from two of the three categories of the Kano model, must‐have and attractive, were rated more positively. Consumer innovativeness differences were found. Consumers with high innovativeness considered must‐have and one‐dimensional functionalities the most important, and consumers with low innovativeness considered all three important, although one‐dimensional functionalities were considered significantly less important. Although increasing functional diversity positively raises product attitude and purchase intention, it tends to raise emotional needs fulfillment only once instrumental needs have been met, especially for respondents showing low innovativeness. The findings should arouse interest about factors that should not be overlooked when developing new convergent products.