Consumer ethnocentrism: A test of antecedents and moderators

This article identifies theoretical antecedents of consumer ethnocentricity and the effect ethnocentricity has on evaluations toward importing products. Hypotheses pertaining to the relationship between the identified antecedents and consumer ethnocentricity are developed based on an extensive review of the ethnocentrism and country-of-origin literatures. Also identified are factors moderating the effect of ethnocentric tendencies on consumers’ attitudes toward importing products. The hypotheses are subjected to an empirical test using data collected in Korea. He has published inJournal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Marketing Science, Management Science, and elsewhere. He has published inJournal of Consumer Research, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Marketing, and elsewhere. He received his Ph.D. in marketing from the University of South Carolina.     

CORPORATE BOARD SIZE, COMPOSITION AND CORPORATE FAILURES IN RETAILING INDUSTRY[1]

In recent years some activists have advanced proposals to reform corporate boards, notably their structure and process, to assure desirable corporate governance. the empirical question, however, is whether such formal board changes would guarantee good governance. This paper examines this issue by studying the differences in the board size and board composition of 21 pairs of failed and non-failed firms. the results suggest that the non-failed retailing firms, as compared to failed ones, tend to have bigger boards within the size range suggested by the activists. the differences in the percent of outsider directors and multiple offices held by C.E.O.s between the failed and non-failed firms were not significant. Implications of the results for the evaluation of board reforms are discussed.     

The biotechnology industry and strategies of biodiversity conservation: The influence of managerial interpretations and risk propensity

This article presents the results of a questionnaire‐based mail survey which was conducted to examine the influence of managerial cognitions on the strategies for biodiversity conservation undertaken by individual companies in the North American biotechnology industry. The study confirmed that managerial issue interpretations and risk propensities were significant influences on organisational actions for biodiversity preservation. More specifically, the biodiversity conservation strategies undertaken by individual companies were influenced by whether or not the managers of these companies interpreted biodiversity conservation as an opportunity or a threat as well as the propensity of these managers to undertake risk on behalf of their companies. This article concludes that opportunity interpretations of biodiversity conservation by managers of biotechnology companies will be translated into proactive environmental responsiveness strategies in uncertain environments only if these managers also exhibit a high risk propensity. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

What’s so Mysterious about Mystery Shoppers? Understanding the Qualifications and Selection of Mystery Shoppers

Mystery shopping are a method of quality management that is utilized often in a variety of businesses. A holistic definition of a mystery shopper is, however, unclear. Literature relating to mystery shoppers was reviewed and analyzed through content analysis, to develop criteria which can be used to define a mystery shopper. The various traits identified were divided into personal traits, training elements, company considerations. The results of the paper provide a thorough analysis of the various traits that constitute a mystery shopper.     

Mode of entry and ex-post performance

In this study I develop and empirically test hypotheses delineating how a set of industry- and firm-level factors are differentially associated with postentry performance of de novo and acquisitive entrants. First, I conceptualize structural entry barriers as sunk costs or irrecoverable investments that entrants must make in the entered industry to be competitive vis-à-vis incumbents. I then argue that de novo and acquisitive entrants differ in three important ways: (1) incremental vs. up-front sunk cost investments in overcoming impediments to entry; (2) increasing productive capacity vs. changing ownership in the entered industry; and (3) low vs. high costs of integration when realizing synergies with parent firms. I use the Trinet, FTC-ALB, and Compustat data bases to construct a sample comprising de novo and acquisitive entries made during the period 1980–82. Next, I evaluate postentry survival and growth between 1982 and 1986. Overall, empirical tests provided partial support for the hypotheses, and the explained variance in my models ranged from 17 percent to 37 percent. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Measuring service performance in mobile communications

With the rapid growth in the size of the cellular phone market, performance standards are emerging as the strategic imperative for the service providers in ensuring customer satisfaction. This article develops and validates a psychometrically sound multi-item measure of service performance in mobile communications. A pool of 16 items was developed to cover the hypothesised multiple aspects of service performance and tested using a sample of 120 customers. The construct validity of the multi-aspect service performance measure was evaluated through assessing convergent, discriminant and predictive validity.     

When loyalties clash purchase behavior when a preferred brand is stocked out: The tradeoff between brand and store loyalty

The interplay between brand and store loyalty is investigated in the situation of stockout of a preferred brand at a preferred store through three studies. A four-item scale for measuring store loyalty is developed and tested. While brand loyalty influences between-store substitution and within-store substitution in a stockout, store loyalty does not have any influence, suggesting the dominance of brand loyalty over store loyalty in a stockout. Relevance and implications of the results are discussed.     

Scale variable specification in a money demand function for Malaysia

We investigate what scale variable is most appropriate in the money demand function for Malaysia. Candidates include income, consumption, disposable income, and domestic absorption and these are considered for simple sum M1 and M2 and for Divisia M1 and M2. Non-nested tests and other model selection criteria such as R² are used. The non-nested tests for the M1 aggregates are inconclusive but more support is given for income as the scale variable for the M2 aggregates, especially for Divisia M2. The other procedures also show that income is preferred for M2 and some support is also given for income for the M1 aggregates.