Response to discussants'' comments: The demand for auditor reputation across international markets for audit services

Previous research has documented a positive relation between variation in audit fees across countries and specific macroeconomic factors such as a country's level of litigiousness and the level of required disclosure. Such studies have focused on the supply of auditor services using single-equation models. This study examines not only the supply of but also the demand for large-firm auditors across 20 different countries using the simultaneous-equations approach. This approach is used to account for the endogeneity between choice of auditor and audit fees. The results indicate an association between greater disclosure requirements and the choice of a large-firm auditor. They also indicate that increased litigation and regulation are associated with higher audit fees.     

Mentoring: A Path to Prosocial Behavior

Public accounting firms can build integrity within their organizations through early detection of fraud. One way to reduce and detect fraud is to encourage whistleblowing as a prosocial behavior. We explore the impact of mentoring on intention to report fraud. A survey with 120 responses from the US public accountants suggests that quality mentoring relationships, a common feature in the profession, and caring ethical climate positively relate to internal reporting of fraud. Two intermediate variables, trust and affective commitment, mediate these effects. Mentor-relationship quality also increases perceptions of caring ethical climate. The study contributes to two bodies of research by (1) finding extended benefits from mentoring, beyond those typically discussed in academic literature; and (2) identifying a previously unexplored firm intervention capable of positively influencing prosocial behavior and combating fraud.     

Advisory board engagement: Assisting undergraduates with resume development

Resumes of students with limited work experience are by nature underdeveloped and frequently poorly designed. Although many tools and resources are available, students often underutilize them. Faculty at a northeastern university sought to address this problem by engaging members of its college of business advisory board to provide students with real-world advice. Many advisory board members are senior executives who can advise students on how to improve their resumes and make them more professional and powerful. To assess the effectiveness of this intervention, pre- and postsurveys were conducted and analyzed. The authors discuss the results and draw some conclusions. D. Kolb's (1984) model of experiential learning provides a conceptual framework.     

From Elicitation to Persuasion: Assessing the Structure and Effectiveness of Differential Emotions in Anti-Drunk-Driving Campaigns

In this paper, we test whether the DES III structure of emotions as described by Izard (1977) can be found in self-report data collected in the context of a campaign to deter drunk driving. Indeed, when exposed to a shocking advertisement about the consequences of drunk-driving, young adults express a range of emotions from surprise to contempt. The purpose of this research is to study and understand the structure of these emotions and their impact on persuasion.

126 social drinkers aged between 20 and 28 years old, who were also students belonging to different French universities, were exposed to a dramatic printed advertisement about drinking and driving. After viewing the ad, subjects answered a survey including different measures of emotions using Izard's DES III scale, and measures of self-efficacy and persuasion.

Factor analysis results reveal a four dimensional structure of the original DES III. Both “primary emotions” and “repulsion” have direct effects on persuasion. However, the effect of “repulsion” on persuasion is negative. This paper is, to our knowledge, the first to show that surprise comes ahead of all other emotions elicited by a shocking advertisement. It is the precursor for all other emotional responses. This research also tests an original model explaining how people respond to shocking advertisements along two distinct pathways: one leading to persuasion and another one leading to resistance to persuasion.     

Internet of things support for marketing activities

ABSTRACT

Internet-enabled consumer devices are to be developed by the manufacturers. In this article, we examine how the Internet of things (IoT) can support marketing activities, including customer relationship management, business intelligence, and product design. In particular, the research reported in this article examines how the IoT can provide communication channels to support targeted marketing for product owners and enhance customer relationship management and product support. In addition, in this article, we examine how data gained from the operational use of Internet-enabled devices can support business intelligence in terms of how consumers actually use a product and can also support new product design in terms what features of current Internet-enabled products are most commonly used and how they are used.     

When distraction may be a good thing: The role of distraction in low-fit brand extension evaluation

This study examines the effect of distraction after being exposed to information on low-fit brand extension evaluation. We show that when consumers are distracted (vs. engaging in deliberate thinking) after encoding extension information they evaluate low-fit brand extensions more favorably. Findings suggest that distraction can help establish connections of remotely associated information between a parent brand and a low-fit extension. We also find that the effect of distraction is contingent on the individual characteristic of consumers' agency–communion orientation. The core effect holds strongly for consumers high in communion orientation, but not for those with an agency orientation. Finally, we examine how marketing communication strategies (i.e., manipulating product message construal level) interact with distraction to influence consumer perceptions of low-fit brand extensions. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.     

Health Literacy,Health Numeracy,and Trust in Doctor: Effects on Key Patient Health Outcomes

This research examines the roles of health literacy, health numeracy, and trust in doctor on: (1) patient anxiety when consulting a doctor; (2) frequency of physician consultations; and (3) patient subjective well-being (SWB). Our sample consisted of 4,040 adults representative of the United States in terms of age, income, and education, but equally split among White/Caucasian (50%) and Black/African American (50%) respondents. We found that functional and communicative health literacy and trust in doctor have linear and curvilinear relationships with anxiety when consulting a doctor. Health numeracy had no effect. Anxiety when consulting a doctor was associated with a lower number of physician consultations and lower SWB. We observed direct linear effects of health literacy, health numeracy, and trust in doctor on frequency of physician consultations and SWB, as well as some curvilinear effects. We found a negative relationship between health numeracy and SWB. We discuss implications of these findings for health and public policy.