Persuasive Charity Appeals for Less and More Controllable Health Causes: The Roles of Implicit Mindsets and Benefit Frames

This research investigates whether donors' beliefs in changeability influence the persuasiveness of charity ads for less and more controllable health conditions. Across three studies and using different health conditions, we show that fixed-mindset consumers' beliefs about immutability lead them to donate more to less (vs. more) controllable causes. The results show that this effect is driven by their tendency to blame people with more controllable health conditions. Conversely, controllability does not influence consumers with growth mindsets, who believe in the changeability of health conditions. Moreover, we examine benefit framing as a potential persuasive factor encouraging donations of consumers with growth mindsets. Specifically, we find that in less controllable cases, consumers with growth mindsets are more persuaded to donate by other-benefit appeals (focusing on how donating enhances others' lives and makes others feel better); in more controllable conditions, they are more persuaded by self-benefit appeals (focusing on how donating enhances their own lives and makes them feel better). The perceived efficacy of donation drives this effect. Meanwhile, consumers with fixed mindsets are more willing to donate to less (vs. more) controllable causes regardless of benefit frames used in the charity ad. This research offers managerial implications for advertisers and marketers.     

How to Encourage Customers to Use Legal Software

This study attempts to identify customer retention strategies for legal software and discusses their effectiveness for three consumer groups (stayers, dissatisfied switchers, and satisfied switchers). Although previous studies propose several antipirating strategies, they do not discuss how to enhance customer intentions to use legal software, which is crucial for software companies. The authors provide four generic retention strategies developed from both antipiracy and customer loyalty literature. The results indicate lower-pricing, legal, communication, and product strategies all enhance customer purchase intentions toward legal software. The lower-pricing strategy is more useful for stayers and dissatisfied switchers, and the communication strategy is most useful for dissatisfied switchers. Both the legal and product strategies have similar impacts on purchase intentions across the three segments. From a firm perspective, a product strategy is most worthwhile and useful across all segments.     

Assessing the Self-service Technology Encounters: Development and Validation of SSTQUAL Scale

Self-service technologies (SSTs) have enhanced the role technology plays in customer interactions with firms, yet instruments that systematically measure the service quality of SSTs from the perspective of customers remain underdeveloped. Based on psychometric scale development approaches, this study conceptualized, constructed, refined, and tested a multiple-item scale that examined key factors influencing SST service quality. Through qualitative and quantitative studies in four separate phases, a 20-item seven-dimension SSTQUAL scale was developed that includes functionality, enjoyment, security, assurance, design, convenience, and customization. The scale demonstrates sound psychometric properties based on findings from various reliability and validity tests as well as vigorous scale replications across industries and consumer traits using several different samples. The utility of the proposed scale is discussed for implications, limitations and future research.     

Informed trading before analyst downgrades: Evidence from short sellers

This paper studies short-selling prior to the release of analyst downgrades in a sample of 670 downgrades of Nasdaq stocks between 2000 and 2001. We find abnormal levels of short-selling in the three days before downgrades are publicly announced. Further, we show that this pre-announcement abnormal short-selling is significantly related to the subsequent share price reaction to the downgrade, and especially so for downgrades that prompt the most substantial price declines. Our findings are robust to various controls that might also affect short-selling such as pre-announcement momentum, three-day pre-announcement returns, and announcement-day share price. In addition, the results are independent of scheduled earnings announcements, analyst herding, and non-routine events near downgrades. Further evidence suggests that tipping is more consistent with the data than the prediction explanation which posits that short sellers successfully predict downgrades on the basis of public information about firms’ financial health. Finally, we present evidence that downgraded stocks with high abnormal short-selling perform poorly over the subsequent six months by comparison with those with low abnormal short-selling. Overall, our results support the hypothesis that short sellers are informed traders and exploit profitable opportunities provided by downgrade announcements.     

A censored stochastic volatility approach to the estimation of price limit moves

A censored stochastic volatility model is developed to reconstruct a return series censored by price limits, one popular form of market stabilization mechanisms. When price limits are reached, the observed prices are truncated and the equilibrium prices are unobservable, which makes further financial analyses difficult. The model offers theoretically sound estimates of censored returns and is demonstrated via simulations to outperform existing approaches with respect to the estimates of model parameters, unconditional means, and standard deviations. The algorithm is applied to model stock and futures returns and results are consistent with the simulation outcomes.     

Computing systemic risk using multiple behavioral and keystone networks: The emergence of a crisis in primate societies and banks

What do the behavior of monkeys in captivity and the financial system have in common? The nodes in such social systems relate to each other through multiple and keystone networks, not just one network. Each network in the system has its own topology, and the interactions among the system’s networks change over time. In such systems, the lead into a crisis appears to be characterized by a decoupling of the networks from the keystone network. This decoupling can also be seen in the crumbling of the keystone’s power structure toward a more horizontal hierarchy. This paper develops nonparametric methods for describing the joint model of the latent architecture of interconnected networks in order to describe this process of decoupling, and hence provide an early warning system of an impending crisis.     

Tourists' Perception of Authenticity in Indigenous Souvenirs in Taiwan

This study contributes to a body of knowledge concerning tourists' perception of authenticity for indigenous souvenirs in Taiwan. Researchers evaluated, designed, and produced souvenir cups chosen to represent Taiwan's indigenous Paiwan culture. Markers, designs, and materials were researched and selected in order to examine tourists' perceptions of authenticity. Tourists were asked to evaluate the cups and to explain their perceived authenticity and willingness to purchase. The findings suggest that tourists perceive modern design combined with indigenous markers to be more authentic than traditional design. The apparent traditionalism of aboriginal souvenirs does not determine the degree of authenticity. Tourists' perception is specifically grounded in the visuality of the souvenir and their willingness to purchase is also associated with authenticity in design.     

Analysis of international tourist arrivals in China: The role of World Heritage Sites

This paper analyzes the determinants of international tourist arrivals in China, especially for World Heritage Sites and various kinds of travel spots. Utilizing annual provincial panel data over the 2000–2005 period, the empirical results suggest that key determinants include the relative income, population in the original country, cost of travel, and tourism infrastructure. In addition, World Heritage Sites are also found to be significant in explaining the numbers of international tourists and have a greater tourist-enhancing effect. Other famous tourist sites rated 4A- and 3A-class are also attractive to foreign tourism. Moreover, cultural rather than natural sites attract more interest among foreign tourists, because China is internationally renowned for its long-standing historical and cultural assets. Finally, the importance of the determinants of the demand for tourism varies from country to country.     

The integration-responsiveness framework and subsidiary management: A response

The discussion that follows responds to Haugland's (forthcoming) questions regarding the justification for using the I-R framework, the appropriateness of using the framework's implied taxonomy as the basis for formulating hypotheses and conducting empirical tests of differentiated fit, and the usefulness of the implications thereby derived. This response also discusses the applicability of the alternative structural model proposed by Haugland from a theoretical and empirical point of view. The discussion shows that the fit approach by Lin and Hsieh (forthcoming) may better explain subsidiary strategies and management than Haugland's model does. This response demonstrates the appropriateness and extends the applicability of the I-R framework.