The Sensitivity of the General Price Level to Changes in the Price of Crude Oil

There are many direct and indirect effects of changing crude oil prices on the inflation rate, so it is not surprising that there are different views about the resulting effects on the general price level and also on other aspects of the general economy. This study, estimates the direct and indirect effects of oil price changes on the economy-wide rate of inflation, which then has effects on spending and producing decisions. However, in this forum, we do not try to estimate the full indirect effects on the level of economic activity, such as effects on real GDP. JEL Classification E310, E370     

A review of the effect of cigarette advertising

Because of the inconsistency in the findings from past decades of research and the lack of consensus regarding the relationship between advertising exposure and cigarette consumption, the large body of extant research on the effectiveness of cigarette advertising has generated equivocal conclusions on this subject. Therefore, we conducted a comprehensive meta-analysis of cigarette advertising research to determine what impact, if any, cigarette advertising has on cigarette consumption. Unlike previous attempts to synthesize the cigarette advertising literature, this study examined three specific levels of the criterion (i.e., initiation, continuation, and brand behavior) rather than examining only aggregate consumption.     

Antecedents and consequences of idiosyncratic deals: A frame of resource exchange

This study examines the antecedents and consequences of both timing and content of idiosyncratic deals (i-deals) for attracting and retaining valuable employees. A resource exchange frame theorizes the influence pattern of personal individualism value, social skill, and perceived insider status on i-deals timing. Individualism and social skill are expected to relate to both ex ante and ex post i-deals; perceived insider status is anticipated to relate only to ex post i-deals. The frame also suggests that i-deals’ content and personal development relate primarily to relational and balanced psychological contracts; the other ex post i-deals, flexibility and workload reduction relate to transactional psychological contracts. The frame was tested with data collected from 289 Chinese employees in the telecommunication industry.     

外资水务企业在华直接投资浅析

对外资水务企业在我国直接投资的发展阶段进行研究,认为外资水务企业在我国的直接投资大致经历了初期、扩张与撤退并存、停滞与渗透并存3个阶段;探讨了外资水务企业进入我国市场带来的主要问题,即:水务产业安全、与我国水务企业的竞争加剧、公众利益保护等。最后提出解决以上问题的方案:根据水务产业的特征将水务产业链细分成自然垄断环节和非自然垄断环节,对自然垄断环节进行严格的管制,而非自然垄断环节,可以适度引入竞争机制;通过示范效应和人才流动学习外资水务企业先进的管理经营和技术,构建我国水务企业的竞争优势;提高公众和企业的参与度,加强对外资水务企业的监督管理。     

A content analysis of ethical policy statements regarding marketing activities

Many large corporations now have written codes of ethics to guide the business/marketing activities of employees. The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency and types of topics which are covered in the ethics policy statements of large U.S. corporations. The results indicated that the topics covered most often (respectively) were: misuse of funds/improper accounting, conflicts of interest, political contributions, and confidential information. It is concluded that in addition to written ethics policy statements, top management should communicate ethical values and demonstrate by example. Robert E. Hite (Ph.D. University of Arkansas) is Associate Professor of Marketing at Kansas State University. His textbook is entitled Managing Salespeople, and his articles have appeared in such journals as the Journal of Advertising Research, Journal of Business Research, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, and Industrial Marketing Management. Joseph A. Bellizzi (Ph.D. University of Nebraska) is Associate Professor of Marketing at Kansas State University. He was previously employed by Hilti Fastening systems as a Market Research analyst. His articles have appeared in such journals as the Journal of Business Research, Journal of Advertising Research, and Journal of Retailing. Cynthia Fraser (Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania) is Associate Professor of Marketing at Kansas State University. Her research interests are international marketing and marketing models. Her articles have appeared in such journals as the Journal of Consumer Research and Industrial Marketing Management.     

Agent-Based Reallocation Problem on Social Networks

Resource reallocation problems aim to determine an allocation maximizing a given objective function. Numerous applications are based on the assumption of restricted contacts between entities but, up to now, studies have been based on unrealistic contexts. Indeed, most of the time, agents are omniscient and/or have complete communication abilities, which are not plausible assumptions in many applications. A solution does not only consist in an optimal allocation, but in a sequence of transactions changing an initial allocation into an optimal solution. We show that the individual rationality does not allow the achievement of socially optimal allocations, and we propose a more suitable criterion: the sociability. Our method provides a sequence of transactions leading to an optimal allocation, with any restriction on agents’ communication abilities. Provided solutions can be viewed as emergent phenomena.     

Involving consumers in the work of a data linkage research unit

We describe and reflect on the work of a Consumer Panel for a data linkage research unit in Wales, and show how the members are inputting into plans for the future. Our work is centred on conducting health‐related data linkage research using anonymously linked, routinely collected data from across Wales via the Secure Anonymous Information Linkage system. In recognition of the importance of including patients and the public in health‐related research, we have established a Consumer Panel to strengthen this voice in our work, and there are currently 10 members (4 men and 6 women) from across Wales, with a range of health‐related areas of interest. A review of Panel activities was carried out after the first year, and all members were invited to provide their views via a questionnaire survey using structured and free‐text responses. Initial feedback, obtained after the first meeting, was tentatively positive, and the questionnaire survey identified practical measures for improvement and future work. We have found the Consumer Panel to be a valuable addition to our work in the rapidly growing area of data linkage research. The views of Panel members provide a positive outlook and a fresh, and sometimes unexpected, perspective on various issues. The lessons we have learned, and our experience of involving the Panel in various aspects of our work, may be of value to others seeking to work with consumers in data linkage research, to researchers in general and to consumers themselves.     

Responses to industrial closure

From a high point in the early seventies resistance to plant closure, especially in the form of the occupation, progressively declined throughout the rest of the decade. This article attempts to explain this trend in terms of changing socioeconomic contexts and management strategies.