The Impact of Food‐Related Values on Food Purchase Behavior and the Mediating Role of Attitudes: A Swiss Study

Personal values and attitudes can help to explain food choice. This study confirmed a hierarchical organization of the value–attitude–behavior chain: Food‐related values influence attitudes, and these, in turn, impact behavior. Contrary to previous findings, values are only partially mediated by attitudes: Some food‐related values are fully mediated, whereas others are partially mediated, and still others have exclusively direct effects on purchase behavior. Questionnaire data from a roughly representative sample of 851 adults living in Switzerland was complemented with actual food purchase behavior measured by a loyalty card of a Swiss retailer over the period of one year. Four theoretically derived structural equation models were compared across eight different food product categories (organic, fair trade, low‐budget, fresh convenience, ready‐to‐eat, light, functional foods, fruits and vegetables). The results question central assumptions of the theory of planned behavior and emphasize the role of food‐related values in food consumption. Implications for marketing and future product developments of food companies are discussed.     

Career motives and entrepreneurial decision-making: examining preferences for causal and effectual logics in the early stage of new ventures

The influence of entrepreneurs’ career motives is examined on two alternative modes of decision-making logic; causation and effectuation. Based on Sarasvathy’s (Acad Manage Rev 26(2):243–288, 2001) seminal study, causation is defined as a decision-making process that focuses on what ought to be done given predetermined goals and possible means, and effectuation as a decision-making process emphasizing the question of what can be done given possible means and imagined ends. Analysis suggests that entrepreneurs who identify themselves with linear or expert career motives have a higher preference for causal decision-making logic. Entrepreneurs who identify themselves with spiral or transitory career motives have a higher preference for effectual decision-making logic. In addition, indications that prior start-up experience moderates the relationship between career motives and effectual decision-making logic for spiral-minded entrepreneurs is found. The overall results give ample support for the assumption that entrepreneurs’ career motives influence their decision-making.     

Developments in accounting regulation: A synthesis and annotated bibliography of evidence and commentary in the 2009 academic literature

In this article, we synthesize in annotated bibliography form, recent regulation-related findings and commentaries in the academic literature. This annotated bibliography is one in a series of bibliographies that summarizes regulation-related academic research. We reviewed academic outlets such as The Accounting Review, The Journal of Accounting Research, The Journal of Accounting and Economics, Accounting Horizons, The Journal of Accounting, Auditing & Finance, The Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, The Journal of Business, Finance & Accounting, Auditing: A Journal of Practice and Theory, and Research in Accounting Regulation. We annotate results of regulation-related research studies and key points from regulation-related commentaries.     

Consumers' Search for Information on the Internet: How and Why China Differs from Western Europe

Internet adoption in China is booming and purchasing power is growing steadily. Increasing numbers of Chinese turn to the Internet to search for information prior to a purchase. Based on 32 h of interviews with students and business professionals in China, and a questionnaire completed by a sample of 1140 students in Beijing and Belgium, our explorative study demonstrates that fundamental cultural, behavioral, economic, technical, and other characteristics of China cause significant differences between Chinese and Western Europeans in their online search process for information prior to a purchase. The differences occur in frequency, goal, types of information sought, types of websites used, search engine usage patterns, and contribution of user opinions. This has important implications for marketing practitioners in China, especially for multinational corporations that enter China and that are not familiar yet with the Chinese environment. Suggestions for future research are also provided.     

The Political Influence of Voters’ Interests on SEC Enforcement

I examine whether political influence as a response to voters’ interest in employment levels is reflected in the enforcement actions of the SEC. I find that large employers are less likely to experience SEC enforcement actions. Next, I examine whether variations in politicians’ sensitivity to employment levels result in variations in enforcement against large employers. I find that large employers are less likely to face enforcement actions during presidential elections if they are based in politically important states. Large employers also face fewer enforcement actions if they are based in high‐unemployment states during elections of senators who serve on SEC oversight committees. Large employers based in high‐unemployment districts enjoy lower enforcement if their members of Congress serve on SEC oversight committees. The findings suggest that voters’ interests are reflected in SEC enforcement.     

Perceived importance of native language use in service encounters

Despite the importance of interactions in services, the role language plays in services is an under-researched field. This paper outlines for which services language is especially important. Consistent across studies in three countries (Belgium, Canada and Finland), the findings suggest that bilingual consumers find it particularly important to be served in their native language in high-involvement services. Moreover, for high-involvement services, all consumers find it important to be served in their native language. For low-involvement services, elderly consumers are less willing to switch language than young consumers. The importance of native language use did not differ between males and females.     

Protecting Solar: Global Supply Chains and Business Power

Governments invested substantially in renewable energy industries in responding to climate change, while seeking to promote economic growth. They also engaged in a series of major trade disputes, notably in the solar photovoltaic and wind sectors. The European Union (EU)–China solar dispute is one of the largest such cases. In 2013, the European Commission (EC) announced duties on imports of solar products from Chinese manufacturers. This decision was at odds with the fact that the majority of the European solar industry opposed tariffs. We propose that the decision was affected by a shift in negotiating power between business and the EC. We suggest that the rise of global supply chains undermined the structural power of industry by dividing manufacturers over trade policy and by fragmenting the information conveyed to policy-makers. This provided an opportunity to the Commission to engage in ‘interest shopping’ by selecting an industry position that matched its own interest. Evidence from a comparative case study on EU and German responses to solar imports supports our argument. The findings suggest that the globalisation of production can strengthen the negotiating power of policy-makers, and implies that policy-makers face new trade-offs at the intersection of manufacturing and climate policy.     

Agency and structure in management accounting research: Reflections and extensions of Kilfoyle and Richardson

This paper is a reaction to and extension of Kilfoyle and Richardson's (K&R) paper “Agency and structure in budgeting: thesis, antithesis and synthesis” [Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 2011;2:183–199] with the aim of contributing to the ongoing discussion about how to conceptualize agency and structure in management accounting research. More specifically, while we fully sympathize with K&R's overall conclusion that a duality perspective (as opposed to dualism) has the best potential to address the intriguing paradox of embedded agency, we also argue that some of their writings open up for multiple interpretations, of which some may be problematic if we want to dissolve the separation of agency and structure. As a reaction to this, we propose a number of specifications resulting in a duality perspective which is grounded in a ‘flat and local’ ontology. This perspective, in turn, forms the basis for the development of a general framework which identifies four principal origins of embedded agency, of which K&R mainly discuss one. In relation to K&R, our paper thus extends their line of argument by suggesting a number of interesting, yet largely unexplored avenues for future management accounting research.     

Trade Liberalization and the Degree of Competition in International Duopoly

This paper analyzes how a reduction in trade costs influences the possibility for firms to engage in international cartels, and hence how trade liberalization affects the degree of competition. We consider a particular intra‐industry trade model amended to allow for firms producing differentiated products. Our main finding is that trade liberalization may have an anti‐competitive effect. We find that there is no unique relation between a reduction in trade costs and the degree of competition. When products are differentiated, a lowering of trade costs is pro‐competitive if trade costs are initially high, but anti‐competitive if trade costs initially are low. Hence, trade policy is not necessarily a substitute for competition policy.