The past,present, and future of consumer research

Marketing Letters - In this article, we document the evolution of research trends (concepts, methods, and aims) within the field of consumer behavior, from the time of its early development to the...     

An empirical investigation of lawn mower safety regulation

This paper tests for switching market conduct in an oligopsonistic industry. The model adopts Bresnahan's procedure for identifying the oligopoly solution and integrates the procedure with a switching regression model. Applied to the US beef slaughter industry, two distinct regimes of conduct in the industry were identified. The two regimes are consistent with the time periods during which the industry has undergone major structural change.     

An analysis of the impact of the self-sufficiency project on wages

We measure the impact of the Self-Sufficiency Project (a randomized welfare-to-work experiment in Canada; henceforth, SSP) on relative wage progression. SSP provided a generous 3-year earnings supplement to treatment group members who found a full-time job within a year of the start of the experiment (take-up group). We estimate the treatment on the treated for two sub-groups of the take-up group: the incentivized and non-incentivized groups. Using an econometric model of wage determination, we find evidence of large and significant relative wage progression of approximately 9 percentage points during the 3-year supplement period for the incentivized group. The impact for the non-incentivized group is much smaller (at most 3 percentage points). There is also some limited information that the non-incentivized group in New Brunswick and the incentivized groups in both New Brunswick and British Columbia continued to work more after the 3-year supplement period ended.     

Standards for risk assessment of standards: how the international community is starting to address the risk of the wrong standards

Technical standards pervade commerce and society and allow the complexity of modern life to operate at all levels, global included. They also provide protection against many risks, whether from food, from dangerous products or from fraud. They are so self-evidently worthy that they are rarely challenged, yet anything as powerful and pervasive as the web of standards needs some element of oversight and quality assurance. There is a danger of over-regulating and the placing of unnecessary constraints on the market and, cumulatively, a constraint on liberties. Technical standards are derived from many sources and for many reasons. The oversight function may need to relate to these reasons, such as the World Trade Organisation controls on damage to trade through protectionist standards. A very common reason for standards is safety, which tends to be treated as an absolute, as an objective technical matter, and there is less oversight or quality assurance of standards set for safety reasons. But safety is a relative term and increases in safety will usually have costs. Judgement needs to be applied in a risk assessment but that raises institutional issues as to who is qualified to apply that judgement. There are also issues of the accountability of those who increase the safety ratchet, which are also related to the institutional issue. This paper explores a case study of one draft standard as an illustration of the need for oversight and then goes on to consider methods of managing the risks inherent in standardisation and technical regulation. It looks in particular at two recent initiatives from within the standards community itself. One is a broad-based proposal for the community to focus on risk management and the other is an instance where a technical regulator has commissioned and designed an impact assessment system in order to provide that quality assurance and accountability.     

Would emerging market pension funds benefit from international diversification: investigating wealth accumulations for pension participants

In recent years, investment portfolio selection is growing in importance for many emerging market pension funds, as pension reforms replace traditional pay-as-you-go systems with advanced funding systems. Various investment regulations are applied to the funded pensions, particularly in the form of portfolio limits for equities and international assets. With a bootstrap simulation approach, this paper attempts to quantify the impacts on retirement benefits of restricting international assets from the investment portfolios of emerging market pension funds. We find that, on average, over half of the pension portfolios of emerging market countries should be in international assets in order to maximize the expected utility of moderate and conservative pension fund participants. More generally, international assets can play a significant role in the investment portfolios for workers with risk aversion varying from aggressive to conservative. With few exceptions, the entire probability distribution of wealth accumulations at retirement could be shifted higher with the inclusion of international assets.     

The Impact of Families Camping Together: Opportunities for Personal and Social Development

A dispute between American Indians and rock climbers over the appropriate use of Devils Tower National Monument in northeast Wyoming reflects fundamental differences in culture and world view. The United States Department of the Interior (USDI) National Park Service's (NPS) attempt to resolve this dispute with a voluntary ban on climbing during the month of June in deference to American Indian cultural and religious practices, and subsequent court rulings upholding the NPS policy, illustrate a widening circle of respect for, and accommodation of, divergent interpretations of humankind's relationship with the natural world.     

A Field Experimental Investigation of Managerially Facilitated Consumer-to-Consumer Interaction

Positive social interactions among consumers are considered increasingly important elements in corporate relationship marketing efforts. There is scant empirical research, however, demonstrating the effect of consumer interactions facilitated by service industry managers on consumer evaluations and behavioral intentions. This study employs a field experimental methodology utilizing four half-day cultural heritage tours (n = 156) to examine consumer-to-consumer (C-to-C) interactions within the group travel context. Research findings demonstrate that managerially facilitated C-to-C interactions significantly increase tour member satisfaction and enjoyment. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed, and calls are made for more field experimental methodologies to be used in tourism research.     

Liu,Peter Yi-Chih. The Development of the Advertising Industry in Japan and Taiwan: A Comparison, 1945–1975. Taipei: International Advertising Agency,Ltd., 1975

Abstract

An increase in regulatory activity regarding false and deceptive advertising during the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s instigated an increase in the number of articles on the subject in both the academic and trade journals. Most of the developing literature centered on post hoc regulation done by formal government agencies (such as the FTC) and informal self-regulatory agencies (such as NAD/NARB). Largely overlooked was the routine but important advertising clearance process that addresses matters of falseness, deception and taste before the advertisements appear in the media. Recent trends toward de-regulation make the clearance process more important than ever before.

This article focuses on widely followed clearance procedures prevalent among major advertisers who use agencies and national media. A case example is included to show nuances and intricacies of the process. Common exceptions to the example are noted. Figures are included to model the general process and primary concerns of the involved parties.     

Kennedy,Sherril H., and David R. Corkindale. Managing the Advertising Process. Lexington,Mass.: Lexington,Books, 1976

Abstract

A mail survey was conducted among a sample of account and creative services personnel working in advertising agencies nationwide to determine areas of conflict in working relationships between these two groups. Additionally, respondents were asked to perform the same critical analysis of their colleagues within their own departments. Analysis of responses from 256 agency employees indicate that some disagreement between account management and creative services exists. Creative services personnel tended to be more critical of account management than account managers were of creative people. Results are explained by the differing perspectives of the generalist (i.e., account managers) and specialist (i.e., creative services) that must be brought together in an agency to produce effective advertising.