Oil prices and world inflation

In this paper we attempt to address the nature of the causal relationships between oil prices and U.S. inflation. We use a procedure developed by Granger to assess “causality” or, more precisely stated, “informativeness.” Our results confirm that higher oil prices have increased the U.S. WPI. Our results also support OPEC's contention that their price increases have in part been a result of worldwide inflation.     

Product Heterogeneity and Cost Allocations in Contingent Trade Protection

The WTO allows members to impose contingent protection, including anti‐dumping duties, within agreed constraints. Anti‐dumping proceedings typically name a single captioned product but include large numbers of individual products within that caption. The inclusion of multiple products creates a variety of issues for both anti‐dumping and other contingent protection measures, issues that have been prominent in national actions and WTO dispute settlements, but have been largely ignored in research. This work focuses on the most important such area, the allocation of costs among products in anti‐dumping proceedings. We develop a comprehensive economic analysis for cost allocation issues, and couple it with the accounting tools that must be used for its implementation, to derive the first‐best allocation methods for anti‐dumping purposes. These results have direct relevance in other contingent trade contexts, such as injury determinations and subsidy pass‐through analysis.     

The complexity of surveying web participation

Marketing managers increasingly need to understand how consumers use and interact with digital media, such as the web, social networks, mobile phones, digital readers, search engines and so forth. The focus of this paper is web participation and the complexities involved in measuring usage and interaction with the web, particularly when relying on data from self-report surveys. Few studies have specifically examined how web participation can be surveyed—this paper addresses the gap. First, web participation is defined by drawing on studies of web usage in information systems, consumer and communication research, and audience use metrics in media research. Second, web participation is discussed as a complex multi-dimensional construct, something that is not fully acknowledged in existing web use research. Third, major influences on self-reported web participation are considered, in particular the impact of a consumer's web design experience and the person's perceptions of web usability on how they self-report web participation. These themes are investigated using a large web-based survey. Findings show that a consumer's perception of web usability has a significant impact on the self-reporting of web participation, but this depends on how web participation is measured and whether the individual has website design experience. The complexity of surveying web participation is apparent, as is the importance of understanding the web's usage-context.     

When Navigation Trumps Visual Dynamism: Hospital Website Usability and Credibility

In-depth interviews about hospital websites were conducted with 15 participants ranging in age, gender, occupation, and computer proficiency. Interviewees completed detailed usability tasks along with questionnaires that gauged perceptions of organizational and website credibility, including visual and technical dynamism. Participants ranked the most dynamic site lower than the less dynamic one because of navigation difficulties. Researchers advocate including usability tasks in website studies, rather than assessing perceptions based on short-term browsing protocols. They present a schema of website concepts organized into language credibility, visual credibility, and technical credibility that can be used in future research or by health communication practitioners. A list of best practices in navigation features is also included.     

Earnings announcement return extrapolation

Review of Accounting Studies - We propose that extrapolative beliefs about earnings announcement (EA) returns may contribute to the understanding of EA return patterns. We construct a theoretically...     

The combined effects of positive and negative affect on job satisfaction and counterproductive work behavior

Management researchers have paid more attention to the role of affect in the workplace in the last two to three decades. While it is clear that positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA) should be associated with positive and negative employee attitudes and behaviors, respectively, we know little about their combined effects. In this study, we provide preliminary evidence concerning the potential complexity of the interplay between PA and NA in affecting job satisfaction and counterproductive work behaviors (CWB). Results of polynomial regression analyses from a sample of 216 employees showed that congruence of PA and NA at high level leads to the higher level of job satisfaction and CWB than they are congruent at low level. For incongruence situations, PA higher than NA leads to higher level of job satisfaction and a lower level of CWB than when NA is higher than PA. Theoretical implications, limitations and future directions are discussed.

     

The link between formality and procedural fairness: The influences of precision,sensitivity and role clarity

This study investigates the complex and not straight-forward association between formality and procedural fairness. It examines the mediating roles of precision of performance measures, sensitivity of performance measures and role clarity. Using survey responses of functional managers of Australian manufacturing firms, the study finds that the link between formality and procedural fairness is mediated by sensitivity of performance measures and role clarity. Role clarity also mediates the link between sensitivity of performance measures and procedural fairness. Our study contributes to the literature by identifying two important factors through which formal performance evaluation can enhance procedural fairness, which is a source of performance motivation.