A note on van Damme's mechanism

We consider (two-person) bargaining games and we assume that the agents want to apply two possibly different bargaining solutions. A mechanism is a function which assigns an allocation to every bargaining game and every pair of bargaining solutions. Examining van Damme's mechanism (1986) from a cooperative point of view we see that it fails to satisfy Pareto-optimality. By modifying it we propose a new mechanism yielding the same conclusions as the original while enjoying some additional desirable properties. Received: 8 August 1998 / Accepted: 15 October 1998     

“Generalized Pareto Fit to the Society of Actuaries’ Large Claims Database,” Ana C. Cebrián,Michel Denuit,and Philippe Lambert,July 2003

Abstract

We consider the issue of modeling the latent or hidden exposure occurring through either incomplete data or an unobserved underlying risk factor. We use the celebrated expectationmaximization (EM) algorithm as a convenient tool in detecting latent (unobserved) risks in finite mixture models of claim severity and in problems where data imputation is needed. We provide examples of applicability of the methodology based on real-life auto injury claim data and compare, when possible, the accuracy of our methods with that of standard techniques. Sample data and an EM algorithm program are included to allow readers to experiment with the EM methodology themselves.     

Can Certified-Tea Value Chains Deliver Gender Equality in Tanzania?

ABSTRACT

A popular approach over the past twenty years has been to rely upon voluntary standards as a means to make claims, measure, and judge whether a number of social-equity concerns exist in private-sector practices. But can voluntary standards deliver gender equity? This contribution responds to this question by exploring how standards and gendered division of labor interact in certified-tea value chains (for example, Ethical Tea Partnership, Fairtrade, Organic, and Rainforest Alliance) in Tanzania. The results of this mixed-method study (2008–10, 2013) contribute to the literature on gender equity and standards by building on the gendered value-chain approach to analyze these complex and contextual interactions. The study proposes that there is a need to focus on the interactions between men and women with different skills and training that contribute to how equitably their roles are distributed in the certified-tea value chains.     

Response Rate and Response Quality of Internet-Based Surveys: An Experimental Study

This study examines the effect of the timing of follow-ups, different incentives, length, and presentation of the questionnaire on the response rate and response quality in an online experimental setting. The results show that short questionnaires have a higher response rate, although long questionnaires still generate a surprisingly high response. Furthermore, vouchers seem to be the most effective incentive in long questionnaires, while lotteries are more efficient in short surveys. A follow-up study revealed that lotteries with small prizes, but a higher chance of winning are most effective in increasing the response rate. Enhancing questionnaires with visual elements, such as product images, lead to a higher response quality and generate interesting interaction effects with the length of the questionnaire and the incentives used. Finally, the timing of the follow-up has no significant influence on the response rate.     

How consumers’ assessments of the difficulty of manufacturing a product influence quality perceptions

This research shows that the perceived difficulty of manufacturing a product influences consumers’ perceptions of the firm’s other products. In three experiments (with 152 participants in Study 1, 86 in Study 2, and 91 in Study 3), participants received information about the quality of a firm’s product and then inferred the quality of another product from the firm. When participants believed that the initial product was relatively more difficult to manufacture than the second product, they inferred that the second product would be high in quality. However, when participants believed that the initial product was relatively easy to manufacture, they inferred that the second product would be low in quality. These effects occurred when perceived difficulty of manufacture was manipulated (Study 2) and occurred regardless of whether both products had dissimilar product benefits (Study 1) or whether brand names were present (Study 3). Allison R. Johnson and Valerie S. Folkes contributed equally to this article.     

The development of contract research organisations in Sweden: health care,privatisation and neo‐liberalism

This paper examines changes in local working conditions instigated by the development of contract research organisations in pharmaceutical development. These developments are seen as occurring in the context of Sweden's ‘circumscribed neoliberalization’. It is shown how staff remain ambivalent about the shifts of location and identity that these developments imply.     

Enough is enough! When identification no longer prevents negative corporate associations

Negative publicity has the potential to create negative corporate associations. However, consumers’ identification with a company might moderate the extent of this effect. This article examines the impact of consumer-company identification on reactions to variable levels of negative publicity about a company. Exposing consumers who had strong identification with a company to moderately negative publicity was found to result in less negative corporate associations than for consumers who had relatively weak identification. In contrast, consumers’ levels of identification did not affect reactions to extremely negative information, resulting in equally negative corporate associations for those with strong versus weak consumer-company identification. Thus, strong identification mitigates the effects of moderately negative publicity but does not attenuate the effects of extremely negative publicity. Consumers’ perceptions of and thoughts regarding negative information about a company partially mediated the effect of identification on attitudes and behavioral intentions. Sabine A. Einwiller (sabine.einwiller@fhso.ch) is a lecturer and researcher at the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland. She worked on this research as a visiting scholar at the University of Southern California, visiting from the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland, where she received her Ph.D. She has published in journals such as theJournal of Consumer Psychology and thePersonality and Social Psychology Bulletin. Her research interests include causes and the measurement of corporate reputation and stakeholder-company identification. Alexander Fedorikhin (sfedorik@iupui.edu) is an associate professor in the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University. His research focuses on the intersection of affect and cognition in consumer decision making. He has published in such journals as theJournal of Consumer Research, theJournal of Consumer Psychology, andOrganizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes. Allison R. Johnson (ajohnson@business.queensu.ca) is an assistant professor of marketing in Queen’s School of Business, Queen’s University. She received her Ph.D. from the Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California. Her research interests include corporate social responsibility, customer-company identification, and consumer emotion. Michael A. Kamins (mkamins@marshall.usc.edu) is an associate professor at the University of Southern California, Marshall School of Business. Dr. Kamins’s current research interests he in pricing strategy in the context of online auctions as well as in the impact of color on consumers’ perceptions of products. He has published over 40 academic articles and proceedings in major academic journals, including theJournal of Marketing, theJournal of Marketing Research, theJournal of Consumer Research, theJournal of Consumer Psychology, theJournal of Advertising, and theJournal of Advertising Research.     

Possession enhancement in an interpersonal context: An extension of the mere ownership effect

The mere ownership effect (Beggan, 1992) is defined as the tendency of an owner to evaluate an object more favorably than a nonowner. The present research extends this idea to how people evaluate their property in comparison to others' property. The general hypothesis was that people would display an interpersonally based mere ownership effect and evaluate their possessions more favorably than others' possessions. Study 1 provided an initial confirmation of this hypothesis by showing that people associated more good traits with their possessions than the possessions of others. Studies 2, 3, and 5 ruled out alternative explanations for the ownership effects. Study 4 found that the attributes owners used to describe a possession were more positive than the attributes used by nonowners. Implications of the results for marketing and marketing research are considered. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.