Following the breadcrumbs: An analysis of online product review characteristics by online shoppers

Consumer-generated product reviews are a driving force behind online purchases; at the same time, unfavorable reviews can discourage interested online shoppers and eventually hurt the brand. The objective of this exploratory study was to analyze a diverse range of characteristics and the valence of online product reviews that would aid in responding to customer dissatisfaction. Product reviews (N = 1982) from Amazon.com were collected and content analyzed. Some of the key findings include the following: (a) price was the most commonly discussed product feature; (b) online shoppers found two-sided reviews to be most informative, contradicting the commonly held assumption that negative reviews were more informative and diagnostic in nature; and (c) ‘no action’ was the most common end action across two-sided and negative reviews, indicating that varying levels of dissatisfaction might not always lead to a negative end action. Implications for marketers are discussed.     

Evaluating travel website motivational communication using a structural equation modelling approach

This study examines online information value structure and its motivational communication competence using the motivational language theory (MLT). MLT explains how communication acts directed by managers to employees generate a greater motivation for work. Five information value dimensions — functional, hedonic, innovation, aesthetic and sign — were identified through literature on the subject of MLT and applied to online information. This study confirmed the multidimensionality of online information and proposed four online information dimensions: experiential (hedonic–innovation), sign, functional and aesthetic. The findings also suggested that experiential (hedonic–innovation) and functional information values have significant effects for travel motivation, including exploration, family togetherness, novelty, escape and socialisation. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Assessing visitors' experiences at hot spring recreation areas in Taiwan

This study assessed the recreational experiences of tourists and aims to discuss the sustainable development of hot spring recreation areas in Taiwan. The study employed questionnaires that included variables measuring importance, satisfaction, sustainable development, and demographic and recreational characteristics. The rate of repeat visits was extremely high. Moreover, tourists strongly agreed that hot spring recreation areas should develop ecotourism programmes. This study concludes that hot spring recreation areas could utilise their natural landscapes, hot spring quality, hotel service quality and proximity to neighbouring destinations to develop themselves. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Stock prices and the efficient market hypothesis: Evidence from a panel stationary test with structural breaks

This paper investigates whether the efficient market hypothesis holds in stock markets under different economic development levels over the period January 1999 to May 2007. We employ a state-of-the-art panel data stationarity test which incorporates multiple structural breaks. Evidence indicates that when accommodating general forms of cross-sectional dependence as well as controlling for finite-sample bias, the real stock price series appear to be stationary in 32 developed and 26 developing countries, respectively, which is in sharp contrast to the findings in the existing literature. Thus, real stock price indices are stationary processes that are inconsistent with the efficient market hypothesis. This shows the presence of profitable arbitrage opportunities among stock markets. According to these estimated structural breakpoints, we are also able to discover the reason for why there has been a huge impact from past stock prices.     

TESTING FOR STATIONARITY OF INFLATION RATES WITH COVARIATES

This paper distinguishes between the stationarity and nonstationarity of inflation in 18 OECD countries through several unit root tests with covariates. These covariate tests are more powerful than the conventional ones through correlated covariates. Both unit root and stationarity null hypotheses are tested in this study. Our empirical results indicate that the efficient univariate unit root tests fail to reject the unit‐root hypothesis for 15 countries, whereas the covariate tests provide strong evidence in support of mean reversion in inflation for almost all countries. Overall, the findings unveil new evidence in favor of stationarity in international inflation. Policy implications on the empirical results are provided as well.     

Monthly rent with variable deposit: A new form of rental contract in Korea

In this paper, we describe the structure of the monthly-rent-with-variable-deposit (MRVD) contract, a distinct type of rental contract in Korea. We demonstrate that the Chonsei contract is one variant of the MRVD contract. To explain the MRVD contract, we propose a leverage-effect-seeking hypothesis. Based on this hypothesis, we are able to elucidate a variety of rental market conditions in Korea. Our hypothesis is consistent with the simultaneous existence of several types of rental contracts and various combinations of monthly rent, as well as the up-front deposit in the MRVD contracts. We also focused on the deposit-to-monthly-rent conversion rate, a critical factor in the Korean rental housing market. Our hypothesis indicates that conversion rates vary across local markets depending on local market conditions, such as the expected house price appreciation rate. The results of our data analysis demonstrate that our hypothesis more adequately explains the observed trend in the conversion rate, as well as that in the MRVD contracts.     

SPATIAL PANELS: RANDOM COMPONENTS VERSUS FIXED EFFECTS*

This article investigates spatial panel data models with a space–time filter in disturbances. We consider their estimation by both fixed effects and random effects specifications. With a between equation properly defined, the difference of the random versus fixed effects models can be highlighted. We show that the random effects estimate is a pooling of the within and between estimates. A Hausman‐type specification test and an Lagrangian multiplier test are proposed for the testing of the random components specification versus the fixed effects specification.