James Sullivan. Jeans: A Cultural History of an American Icon

How is it that jeans evolved from durable work clothes intoa global symbol of America? James Sullivan's new work surveysthe history of denim wear, showing how "... a pair of blue jeansembodies two centuries     

Status demotion in hierarchical loyalty programs: effects of payment source

Hierarchical loyalty programs are being operated currently by many firms to improve customer relationships. While past work has demonstrated the negative effects of status demotion in such programs, research on how these effects may vary across different customer group based on payment source is almost nonexistent. This paper examines the moderating role of payment source (‘own money’ versus ‘others money’) on the effects of status demotion on customer attitudes and behavior in hierarchical loyalty programs. Analysis of data collected from members of airline loyalty programs show that the negative effects of status demotion on customer attitudes, loyalty intentions, and share-of-wallet are stronger for demoted ‘own money’ customers than for demoted ‘others money’ customers. The study provides a deeper insight about the effects of status demotion and points out that firms could possibly be endangering the loyalty of many potentially valuable customers, in particular among the ‘own money’ customer group.     

Surprise and dispersion: informational impact of USDA announcements

We examine the role of information asymmetry on changes in bid‐ask spreads during major United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announcements. Our analyses, using corn, wheat, and soybean futures, indicate that information asymmetry is significantly higher on USDA announcement days compared to nonannouncement days. We further observe that the increased information asymmetry prior to news announcements is mainly driven by the divergence in private information possessed by market participants. However, once the USDA news is released, not only the dispersion in investors’ private information but also the surprises in news announcements contribute to increased information asymmetry and widening of bid‐ask spreads.     

Health technology assessment in Japan: a work in progress

Abstract

Background: In Japan, pharmacoeconomic requirements for list-price adjustment were institutionalized in April 2019 following provisional implementation of a new Health Technology Assessment (HTA) program 2016–2019. Since April 2019, submission of cost-effectiveness evidence to the Central Social Insurance Medical Council (Chuikyo) as part of the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare has been mandatory for selected pharmaceuticals and medical devices.

Methods: Based on a review of publications and commentaries since April 2019, together with views from a group of experts on key issues to be addressed, this report provides an update on recent HTA developments and key challenges still to be addressed.

Results and Discussion: Japan’s new HTA program is a first step toward development of a universal healthcare system that can be sustainable for many years into the future. Currently, Japan’s HTA program requires provision of incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) as evidence, with quality-adjusted life years as the preferred outcome measure. Prices can be adjusted both upward and downward according to the degree of the ICER estimate. Japan is the first country to have adopted an algorithmic method for “ICER-based” pricing; however, HTA measures that extend beyond a single ICER estimate are needed to take full advantage of HTA in the future. In particular, generation of evidence of value should support changes to the healthcare system so that incentives for innovation are not diminished while industry and government are not overburdened by the generation or assessment of evidence. There is a need to ensure scientifically sound HTA expertise across all sectors in Japan, and therefore enhancement of HTA literacy and capability among healthcare professionals, academia, government, and industry should be a priority.     

How to gain image and positioning on social media: Spanish agribusiness firm image and position on social media

ABSTRACT

The aim of this article is to obtain insights into how agribusiness firms can gain image recognition and positioning on SM and, in doing so, determine the images that can increase or diminish their positions on SM and predict the frequency of an image’s visibility on SM. This article uses data collected from a large number of Spanish agribusiness firms of the agrarian, agrifood and wine subsectors, located in rural peripheral areas or urban cores, to identify their images and positioning on social media. We use the Tagxedo digital tool to show the distinctive images of agribusiness firms on SM. Using the Howsociable digital tool and observing the SM key performance indicators (KPI), we measure the traffic and visibility of agribusiness firms on social media, and we find that a lot of agribusiness firms leave the potential of SM unused. The agribusiness firms upstream in the value chain and located in rural peripheral areas could take more advantages of SM visibility. We then create a model of image and positioning on SM using a binary logistic regression. We predict that more than two messages of sales per week on SM can diminish the visibility of agribusiness firm on SM.     

The effect of regional factors in the development of eco‐innovations in the firm

This research addresses the study of the effect of regional factors in the development of eco‐innovations in the firm. We assume the hypothesis of regional heterogeneity, that is, geographical factors and the regional heterogeneity play an important role in determining the innovations in the firms. In this line, we will approach our study from the perspective of regional innovation systems (RISs). Therefore, our research question involves the evaluation of regional factors as determinants of eco‐innovation developing in the firm. To examine these questions, the PITEC database that covers the period 2011–2013 was used. Overall, 5,461 firms have been employed for the ordinal logit regression model. This research contributes to the studies of eco‐innovation, extending the investigation into drivers of eco‐innovation, and highlights the impact that RIS has on the eco‐innovative development in the firm. We find that regional interaction and regional characteristics are key elements for the development of eco‐innovation in firms. Thus, the density of companies in the region, the regional per capita income, and the existence of financing mechanisms are key elements for the eco‐innovative development in the firm.     

The Impact of Living‐Wage Ordinances on Urban Crime

We examine the impact of living wages on crime. Past research has found that living wages appear to increase unemployment while providing greater returns to market work. The impact on crime, therefore, is unclear. Using data on annual crime rates for large cities in the United States, we find that living‐wage ordinances are associated with notable reductions in property‐related crime and no discernable impact on nonproperty crimes.