Free trade agreement and transport service trade

This study investigates the effects of free trade agreements (FTAs) on trade in transport services using OECD data from 2003 to 2006. Our analysis found that FTAs had a positive overall impact on transport services for multiple countries (i.e., 26 home and 56 partner countries). The resulting positive overall impact assures that, even with the challenges associated with different layers of services and the obstacles formed by generally low trade openness in the sector, the provisions in FTAs (e.g., national treatment and market access for goods and services) promote transport service trades. Our findings suggest that the provisions in FTAs encourage economic agents to increase engagement in transport services because of expanded openness of the physical movement of goods across international borders.     

An examination of restaurant firm financing and the cost of borrowing

The use of debt is prevalent in the restaurant industry. While there have been numerous studies on restaurant capital structure, this study examines the relationship between firm performance and effective interest rate on debt used by restaurant firms. This study uses a sample of 56 publicly traded U.S. restaurant firms for the years 2012–2014. We examine the relationship between effective interest rates and firm performance as measured by approximate Tobin’s Q, return on assets, and return on equity. We find a significant and positive relationship between effective interest rates and return on equity.     

Effective Post‐Signing Market Check or Window Dressing? The Role of Go‐Shop Provisions in M&A Transactions

This paper examines the use of go‐shop provisions in M&A. We find that go‐shop deals tend to have higher deal premiums and receive more competing bids while the length of the go‐shop period does not affect deal premium and competition. Also, deals are less likely to be completed when a go‐shop provision is included and when the go‐shop length is longer. However, go‐shops have no effect on the completion of high premium deals. We also find that the presence of a go‐shop provision leads to a positive market reaction to deal announcements. Overall, our findings support the proposition that go‐shops reflect the efforts of target managers to fulfill the Revlon duties in the form of a post‐signing market check, which is consistent with stewardship theory.     

Scarcity Appeals in Advertising: The Moderating Role of Expectation of Scarcity

Advertisers often use scarcity appeals to influence consumers, with announcements such as “hurry, limited quantities,” and “limit: two per customer.” Based on a persuasion knowledge framework, we show in three studies that the effect of scarcity appeals on product evaluation is moderated by consumers' expectation of scarcity, such that scarcity appeals have a positive effect when expectation of scarcity is high but not when it is low. We also show that this interaction effect holds for expectation of scarcity due to demand as well as supply, and that cognitive load constitutes a boundary condition for this effect. These findings contribute to the literature by identifying expectation of scarcity as a moderator, persuasion knowledge as a mechanism, and cognitive load as a boundary condition for the effect of scarcity appeals on product evaluation. From a managerial perspective, this research indicates that scarcity appeals are more effective when consumers have high compared to low expectations of scarcity; that activation of persuasion knowledge can eliminate the positive effect of scarcity appeals; and that cognitive load can reinstate the positive effect of scarcity appeals on product evaluation.     

Can a Celebrity Serve as an Issue‐Relevant Argument in the Elaboration Likelihood Model?

While celebrity endorsement has been traditionally perceived as a peripheral cue in the elaboration likelihood model, several conceptual studies suggest otherwise that it may play a significant role in delivering issue‐relevant information when celebrity–product congruence exists. The current study provides empirical evidence that a celebrity indeed serves as an issue‐relevant argument by investigating the interaction effects between endorser–product congruence and product involvement on consumer responses in two different match‐up conditions. Moderated regression analysis results indicated that product involvement strengthened the effect of expertise‐based endorser–product congruence on consumer responses. However, the relationship between attractiveness‐based endorser–product congruence and consumer responses generated insignificant results. Research findings entail that a celebrity persuades consumers through the central route when the expert image in particular fits well with the endorsed product. Further analyses indicated that attitude toward the brand mediated the relationship between attitude toward the advertisement and purchase intention in both match‐up environments.     

I'll Have Fries with That: Increasing Choice Complexity Promotes Indulgent Food Choices

Three studies showed that the way that options are presented in a choice set—as combinations of intersecting attributes or in a more sequential “a la carte” choice format—affects the degree to which consumers adhere to their goals in the consumption setting. Specifically, using the context of food consumption and healthy eating, results showed that consumers were more likely to make double indulgent choices, the choice of both an indulgent entrée and an indulgent side item, when choosing from a menu consisting of predetermined “combination meals” than when selecting among the same entrée and side options in an a la carte fashion. Studies 2 and 3 implicated a goal distraction mechanism in driving the effect; the combination format, with its cross‐cutting of product choices into various combinations, reduces the salience of goal‐related constructs on implicit measures. In showing that different product presentation formats can affect the degree to which consumers make goal‐consistent choices, the current work adds to work on the effects of environmental influences on goal progress and goal achievement. Implications for encouraging goal‐consistent behavior in the context of healthy eating as well as other important consumer goal contexts are discussed.     

The Relationships Amongst Emotional Experience,Cognition, and Behavioural Intention in Battlefield Tourism

The objective of this study was to identify the hypothesized relationships amongst emotional experience, cognition, and behavioural intention in battlefield tourism. A face-to-face questionnaire survey was administered and 655 valid questionnaires were collected at heritage site related to the Sino-French War in Keelung, Taiwan. The results revealed significant positive relationships between emotional experience and cognition as well as between cognition and behavioural intention. Structural equation modelling verified that cognition fully mediated the effects of emotional experience on behavioural intention. Moreover, this study suggests that cognition may be an accurate predictor of behavioural intention, particularly in regard to battlefield tourism.