Suspicion and Perceptions of Price Fairness in Times of Crisis

Times of crisis bring about increased demands on businesses as shortages, or unexpected but significant, business costs are encountered. Passing on such costs to consumers is a challenge. When faced with a retail price increase, consumers may rely on cues as to the motive behind the increase. Such cues can raise suspicion of alternative motive (e.g., taking advantage of the consumer) affecting consumers’ judgments of price fairness. This research investigates two triggers of suspicion: salience of alternative motives, and behavior judged to be out-of-character for the business. Results of the two studies within crisis contexts indicate that suspicion is created when alternative motives are salient and when a retailer acts out-of-character. Multiple group analyses revealed that suspicion induced negative affect and subsequent perceptions of price fairness. When suspicion was present, more negative feelings toward the retailer and judgments of price unfairness resulted.     

Impact of BSE on Beef Purchases in Alberta and Ontario Quick-Serve Restaurants

This analysis employed a highly disaggregated household data set of Alberta and Ontario fast food purchases from May 2000 to May 2005. A double-hurdle count data model allowed tests of the hypotheses that frequency of Bovine spongiform encephalopathy ( BSE) media coverage affected neither a household's monthly probability of purchasing a beef entree, nor the household's monthly quantity of beef entrees purchased. Ontario consumers were more likely to stop purchasing beef entrees immediately following a surge in BSE media coverage, but those who did buy beef entrees maintained stable quantity levels. BSE media coverage did not systematically affect fast food purchases among Alberta consumers .
Dans la présente analyse, nous avons utilisé un ensemble de données fortement désagrégées sur les achats de repas–minute effectués par des ménages de l'Alberta et de l'Ontario, entre mai 2000 et mai 2005. Un modèle de comptage à deux étapes (double hurdle count data model) a permis de vérifier les hypothèses selon lesquelles la concentration de la couverture médiatique de la crise de l'ESB n'influence pas la probabilité mensuelle d'un ménage d'acheter des repas–minute de bœuf ni la quantité mensuelle de repas–minute de bœuf achetés par un ménage. Les consommateurs ontariens étaient plus susceptibles de cesser d'acheter des repas–minute de bœuf immédiatement après une poussée de la couverture médiatique de la crise de l'ESB, mais ceux qui achetaient des repas–minute de bœuf ont maintenu les quantités achetées. La couverture médiatique de la crise de l'ESB n'a pas systématiquement influencé les achats de repas–minute chez les consommateurs albertains .     

Adoption of Online Grocery Shopping: Personal or Household Characteristics?

This article analyzes how sociodemographic characteristics impact the adoption of online grocery shopping, and relies on the Motivation-Opportunity-Ability (MOA) model to explore what these sociodemographics actually capture and how they are linked with consumer motivations. The researchers exploit a survey among 468 customers of Belgian supermarket chain Colruyt. Their logistic regression shows that while variables at the personal level do affect adoption of the online channel, consumers’ motivations to adopt in fact lie on the household level. In particular, the effect of age disappears or becomes less strong when it is combined with household characteristics. An examination of respondents’ self-reported motivations confirms that age does not only capture a person’s ability to use the technology but also its usefulness for that person’s household, in that age is correlated with the presence of young children and the working situation in the household.     

International patent analysis as a tool for corporate technology analysis and planning

New, techniques of international patent anabsis are illustrated and resultsfrom preliminary validity tests of these techniques are presented. Indicators of technological activity, technological significance and commercial potential are constructed, and used to analyze fiber-based opto-electronic couplers and monoclonal-antibody-based diagnostic kits at the levels o f the technology, nation and firm. The international patent indicators are found to be closely correlated with R&D expenditures, scientific publications and new product introductions. They also relate to these indicators in ways that moke sense as specified in simple regression models of the innovation process. Comparisons of patent analysis results with expert opinion (for two process technologies) reveal that technology–level analyzes conform quite well with expert opinion, but national – and firm–level analyes vary from a low to a modest correlation with expert opinion. The authors conclude that the techniques can provide important information for corporate technology management, but that studies of additional technologies and further validity tests are needed.     

Ford Motor Company's Global Electrification Strategy

Ford Motor Company has developed global platforms for its vehicles, including hybrid electric vehicles and forthcoming battery-electric and plug-in hybrids. Providing electrification technologies is a key element of Ford's broader strategy of producing vehicles that have improved fuel economy and reduced greenhouse emissions. The breadth of this effort—across a range of vehicle types—is unique in the automotive industry. Of particular importance is using the same vehicle platforms for electrified vehicles as for conventionally fueled vehicles in Ford's global strategy. Infrastructure development is a key element in the success of plug-in hybrid and battery electric vehicles. To this end, Ford is developing home-charging systems and communication networks that will enable drivers to find recharging stations.     

User producer interaction in context

User producer interaction (UPI) increases chances for successful innovations. It is not always clear, however, what type of interaction is necessary in a particular context. This article identifies seven different types of UPI: constructing linkages, broadening, characterizing users, upstream involvement, first user enrollment, feedback, and downstream innovation. Specific contextual dimensions from which these UPI types derive relevance are discussed. The technological dimension of this context is conceptualized based on a distinction between types of technologies that differ in the degree to which they are customizable to user demands. Four case studies show that technological characteristics indeed matter for UPI, as do the heterogeneity of users and the phase of technology development.     

Supply chain relationships: Exploring the linkage between inter-organisational adaptation and learning

This paper aims to advance the process dimension of inter-organisational adaptation that takes places in supply chain relationships, building upon learning literature. Therefore, it summarizes and disentangles the different debates on inter-organisational adaptation and learning in the literature and establishes the theoretical linkage between both concepts. Two dyadic case studies show that the learning processes that underlie inter-organisational adaptations may be comprehensively classified based upon the direction of learning, resulting in “learning from” versus “learning with”, and based upon the span of learning, resulting in “incidental learning” versus “incremental learning”. The experiential nature of learning provides an explanation for the reinforcing character of inter-organisational adaptation, which is an alternative to the explanations presented in literature on supply chain relationships.