AN EVALUATION OF ALTERNATIVE APPROACHES TO MARKET SHARE ANALYSIS WITH APPLICATION TO THE KUWAITI POULTRY MARKET

Changes in exporter market shares in the Kuwaiti poultry import market over the period 1971–81 are analysed by three modelling procedures. Two traditional approaches, a first-order constant transition probability Markov model and a set of market share equations, are found to be of only limited use. As an alternative, a multinominal logit model of market share behaviour is estimated. The empirical results indicate that, in addition to relative price changes, domestic policy inducements for Brazilian and European Community exports are important in determining market share changes. A comparison of the explanatory abilities of the models suggests that the multinominal logit model is as least as good as traditional modelling alternatives with respect to econometric criteria. It is concluded that the multinominal logit model offers considerable promise as a tool for market share research.     

The service sector and economic growth: some cross-section evidence

It has often been claimed that a relative expansion of the service sector has a deleterious effect on economic growth. This paper uses cross-section country-level data from three decades –1960s, 1970s and 1980s – to see whether in fact this negative relation is reflected in the data. It is found that the effect is negative or positive depending on how the role of the service sector is measured, but there is a strong case that effect is in fact usually negative.     

Tourists and traditional divers in a common fishing ground

We study socio-ecological models for a fishing ground open to tourists. On Jeju Island, Korea, women traditional divers called “Haenyeo” harvest resources in a common fishing ground. To investigate the impact of introducing tourists on the benefit to the fishing association and the resource level, we examine two models that differ in the way the number of tourists is controlled. In the first model, the fishing association charges an entrance fee to tourists and the level of the fee is chosen to regulate tourist number. In the second, only a part of the fishing ground is made open to tourists, and the fraction of the ground open is chosen to control the tourist number. In both models, the fishing association seeks to maximize its total benefit. Analysis shows that the way the number of tourists increases with the availability of resources strongly influences the distribution of benefits among the fishing ground stakeholders. Finally, we discuss policy implications of our results and how local government can reduce the risk of introducing tourism.     

Restricted maximum likelihood estimation under Eisenhart model Ill

For a balanced two-way mixed model, the maximum likelihood (ML) and restricted ML (REML) estimators of the variance components were obtained and compared under the non-negativity requirements of the variance components by L ee and K apadia (1984). In this note, for a mixed (random blocks) incomplete block model, explicit forms for the REML estimators of variance components are obtained. They are always non-negative and have smaller mean squared error (MSE) than the analysis of variance (AOV) estimators. The asymptotic sampling variances of the maximum likelihood (ML) estimators and the REML estimators are compared and the balanced incomplete block design (BIBD) is considered as a special case. The ML estimators are shown to have smaller asymptotic variances than the REML estimators, but a numerical result in the randomized complete block design (RCBD) demonstrated that the performances of the REML and ML estimators are not much different in the MSE sense.     

Performance lies are hazardous to organizational health

Performance lies arise both from individual and from situational causes, but in this article, the attention is on situational causes. These are generally triggered by loyalty to the coalition, which is expressed through the continued use of performance lies. Because performance lies help create a boundary around the coalition that insulates its activities from top management, performance lies enable members of the coalition to exercise a greater degree of internal control. Naturally, such lies are dysfunctional, resulting in the avoidance of difficult issues and problems and compromising the organization's ability to adapt to a changing environment based on accurate information.     

Mean squared error efficient estimators of the variance components

Summary Pseudo Bayesian estimators for the variance components based on Jeffrey’s Rule are derived for the mixed balanced incomplete block design and are compared with the usual analysis of variance estimators in terms of mean squared error (MSE) efficiency. Numerical results show that Pseudo-Bayesian estimators are more efficient in numerical results.     

Enhancing customers’ brand loyalty via branded hotel apps

Many hotels have launched their own branded mobile applications to develop relationships with customers. Yet, research examining the benefits of branded hotel apps on brand loyalty is scant. The current research investigates the role of branded hotel apps on brand loyalty through customer engagement and brand trust in the hotel industry, based on uses and gratifications theory. Results identified cognitive and social benefits of the branded hotel apps positively influenced customer engagement and brand trust. Hedonic benefits positively influenced customer engagement and they indirectly influenced brand trust through customer engagement. Both customer engagement and brand trust positively influenced brand loyalty. Moreover, mediation effects of customer engagement and brand trust were identified. Results highlight how branded hotel apps serve as a facilitator of brand loyalty, providing theoretical and managerial implications.     

Progression,Stability, or Decline? Sociological Mechanisms Underlying Change in Specialization Among Birdwatchers

Using a panel of American birdwatchers collected in 1997 and 2002, we tested the extent to which birdwatchers progressed over a five-year period. The impact different career contingencies and life course events had on predicting change in birdwatchers' behavior, skill, and commitment was also examined. Findings indicated that although progression characterized some birdwatchers' participation, involvement by others was better characterized by stability or decline, which was true for each of the indicators used to measure specialization. Career contingencies and life course changes had only a moderate influence on predicting change in the specialization indicators over time. Support from family members and retirement were the best predictors of change in specialization.