The importance of origin as a quality attribute for beef: results from a Scottish consumer survey

Perception of country of origin and purchasing habits for beef were examined for urban and rural Scottish consumers. Origin was identified as being as important as intrinsic quality cues of colour and leanness, with rural consumers giving more weight to origin than urban ones. Most consumers interpreted ‘Scotch Beef’ and ‘British Meat’ label logos as evidence that the beef animals were ‘born, raised and slaughtered in Scotland or Britain’ respectively. The logos were taken as indicators of quality and safety. Both urban and rural respondents had higher agreement levels with Scotch beef as a safer, higher quality and more expensive commodity than British meat. Rural consumers made more use of butcher shops for purchase, but both groups sought butcher beef for quality reasons and supermarket sources because of convenience.     

The Impact of Management Development Practices on Organizational Commitment

Social exchange theorists argue that organizations that provide developmental assignments raise employee commitment. But such assignments may also undermine commitment by increasing the recipients’ value in the external labor market. We compare the effect of developmental assignments on organizational commitment with that of other development practices: coaching, mentoring, training, and support from the direct superior and senior management. We also test whether synergies arise when developmental assignments are combined with the other development practices. Using a sample of 312 highly skilled professionals working in over sixty countries, in a variety of industries and firms of various sizes, we find that developmental assignments are the strongest driver of organizational commitment, together with support from senior management. The positive relationship between developmental assignments and organizational commitment is weaker in the presence of other development practices. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Further insights into perceived value and consumer loyalty: A “Green” perspective

“Green consumption” is an increasingly important topic in today's society. The effect of the ecological value provided by traditionally non‐green products, such as automobiles, on their consumer's post‐purchase behavior, such as brand or model loyalty, requires further clarification. The present study provides qualitative and quantitative insights from car users on how the ecological aspect of consumption integrates into the link between perceived value and consumer loyalty intentions (value–loyalty link). In general, car usage is accompanied by perceived functional, economic, emotional, and social value. Perceived ecological value is shown to have a significant impact on these four value dimensions. The relevance of “green to have quality,” “green to save money,” “green to feel good,” and “green to be seen” in relation to loyalty intention is discussed. Results of a structural equation model and multigroup analysis provide the opportunity to derive both theoretical and applied implications. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Selbstoffenbarung im Social Web

The social web is based on active participation of users generating their own content and disclosing private information online. From the users?? perspective, however, the availability of private information on the web is risky and considerably compromises their privacy. The discussion of this issue is affected by the assumption that social web users do in fact disclose a great deal of personal information. So far, however, there is no representative data on this for the social web at large. For the first time, this paper introduces an internet-representative survey on self-disclosure in the social web. As findings show, the social web actually does encourage the provision of personal information. A number of factors influencing self-disclosure are investigated, analyzing the so-called ??privacy paradox??, the contradiction between attitudes towards privacy and actual behavior, which is shown in this paper as also existing on a behavioral level (??privacy behavior paradox??). Other factors influencing self-disclosure behavior were investigated: education, internet experience, extent of social web use, as well as gender and age. Results indicate that notably young users, who focus on particular social web applications, tend to reveal many personal details. Besides, a slight correlation of self-disclosure with education and internet experience could be detected.     

Wenn Nerven schmerzen

Ursachen und Symptome - Chronische neuropathische Schmerzen verursachen aufgrund ihrer Charakteristik einen gro?en Leidensdruck. K?rperfunktionen und Lebensqualit?t sind h?ufig stark beeintr?chtigt. Welche Arten des neuropathischen Schmerzes müssen unterschieden werden und wie werden sie diagnostiziert?     

Future Nonaudit Service Fees and Audit Quality

Prior to the Sarbanes–Oxley Act of 2002, audit partners experienced economic pressure to grow revenue from the sale of nonaudit services to their audit clients. To an auditor who is highly rewarded for revenue generation and growth, nonaudit services may represent a particularly strengthened economic bond with the client. Prior research shows that, in general, nonaudit service fees received in the current period do not impair audit quality. We examine a different setting. We propose that auditor independence can become impaired, and audit quality compromised, when clients that currently purchase relatively low amounts of nonaudit services, increase their purchases of nonaudit services from the auditor in the subsequent period. We test our prediction in the context of earnings management as a proxy for audit quality, measured by (a) performance‐adjusted discretionary accruals and (b) classification shifting of core expenses. Our results indicate that prior to the Sarbanes‐Oxley Act, rewards to the auditor in the form of future additional nonaudit service fees from current‐year high fee‐growth‐opportunity clients adversely affects audit quality. This effect is particularly strong among companies with powerful incentives to manage earnings. Our findings indicate that regulators should consider the multiperiod nature of the client–auditor relationship when contemplating policies that restrict nonaudit services, as well as the overall environment in which audit partners operate. This might include partner compensation arrangements that put pressure on audit partners to focus on increasing revenue at the expense of audit quality.