Shutting up shop: understanding the international exit process in retailing

Internationalisation is a much-studied phenomenon. Exit from international markets has been less analysed. Where it has been studied, most work has been on motives and causes, with relatively little on processes. This article explores the process of international exit in a retail context. It examines the run-up to, announcement of and fall-out from the decision by Marks and Spencer (one of Britain's leading retailers) to close its French stores. The article concludes that understanding the process of market exit is at least as important both for theoretical and practical reasons as understanding the decision to exit or divest. Further research needs to be undertaken on market exit and the processes involved, in order to contribute further to the theory and practice of internationalisation.     

The Importance of Store Operator on Superstore Employment Levels

Information from 175 superstores, operated by three companies, is used to investigate the importance of store operator in setting superstore employment levels and types of employment. Store operator is shown to be a significant factor determining employment numbers and types in British superstores.     

Expert opinion and probabilistic volcanic risk assessment

We present data from an international survey of scientists working at volcanic observatories concerning eruption likelihoods. The scientists were asked a range of questions using different types of phrasing. The data suggest that the phrasing of questions affects the ways in which probabilities are estimated. In total, 71% of respondents (N = 70) exhibited some form of inconsistency in their answers between and/or within different question formats. The data also allow for an analysis of the use of scaling in probabilistic assessment, and the use of quantitative versus verbal risk measurements. However, some respondents were uncomfortable with providing any numerical probability estimate, perhaps suggesting that they considered the uncertainty too high for meaningful judgements to be made.     

Language power and persuasion

Powerless language involves the use of various linguistic markers (i.e., hedges, intensifiers, deictic phrases, overly polite language, tag questions, and verbal and nonverbal hesitations), which signify relatively low social status in a given communication context. Powerful language suggests higher social status and is characterized largely by the absence of these markers. The results of a laboratory experiment indicated that language power influenced attitudes toward a hypothetical new consumer electronics product, regardless of whether the communication was presented in print versus videotape. For both print and video modalities, speakers using powerful language were more persuasive than speakers using powerless language. However, powerless language had the additional effect of generating more thoughts about the speaker. These results are discussed in terms of the multiple roles postulate of the elaboration‐likelihood mode. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Combining Opinions for Use in Bayesian Networks: A Measurement Error Approach

Bayesian networks (BNs) are graphical probabilistic models used for reasoning under uncertainty. These models are becoming increasingly popular in a range of fields including engineering, ecology, computational biology, medical diagnosis and forensics. In most of these cases, the BNs are quantified using information from experts or from users' opinions. While this quantification is straightforward for one expert, there is still debate about how to represent opinions from multiple experts in a BN. This paper proposes the use of a measurement error model to achieve this. The proposed model addresses the issues associated with current methods of combining opinions such as the absence of a coherent probability model, the loss of the conditional independence structure of the BN and the provision of only a point estimate for the consensus. The proposed model is applied to a subnetwork (the three final nodes) of a larger BN about wayfinding in airports. It is shown that the approach performs well than do existing methods of combining opinions.     

Reoperations in intramedullary fixation of pertrochanteric hip fractures

Objective: This study evaluated the frequency of reoperation within 1 year of initial intramedullary fixation for patients with pertrochanteric hip fracture and compared 1-year healthcare resource utilization and cost burden for patients with and without reoperation.

Methods: This is a retrospective evaluation of medical claims from the US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Standard Analytic File. Patients aged ≥65?years who underwent fixation with an intramedullary implant for a pertrochanteric fracture between 2013 and 2015 were included. Healthcare resources that were evaluated included skilled nursing facility (SNF), inpatient rehabilitation facility (IRF), readmissions, and outpatient hospital visits. All-cause payments for these services comprised overall cost burden. Generalized Linear Models were used to evaluate healthcare resources and cost burden over 1-year post-surgery and to adjust for confounding between patients with and without a reoperation.

Results: A total of 6,423 Medicare patients were included in the analysis. Mean (SD) age was 82.4 (7.8) years, 76.0% were female, and 93.3% were white. A second hip surgery within 1 year after the index fixation procedure was performed in 414 patients (6.4%): 121 (29.2%) contralateral, 115 (27.8%) ipsilateral, and 178 (43.0%) without specified laterality. After adjusting for confounding factors, Medicare patients with ipsilateral reoperations had statistically significantly higher readmissions (100% vs 32.5%, p?p?=?0.018), admissions to a SNF (88.5% vs 80.4%, p?=?0.024), and admissions to an IRF (38.8% vs 22.0%, p?p?Conclusions: Patients who require a second hip surgery after initial fixation with an intramedullary implant for pertrochanteric hip fractures have significantly higher 1-year healthcare resource utilization and 63.5% higher costs than patients without reoperation.     

Efficiency Wages and the Regulated Firm

This paper develops empirical tests of "efficiency-wage" hypotheses and applies these tests to data on a regulated firm. According to efficiency-wage theory, wage levels positively affect employee performance and, moreover, cost minimization requires that employers pay a wage premium above the supply price of labor. To explore these issues, we use company-level data to estimate production and quit functions that allow for efficiency-wage effects. Our empirical results support efficiency-wage theory: payment of a wage premium reduces the firm's quit rate, raises labor productivity, and lowers operating costs. These findings call into question the regulatory practice of disallowing labor expenses when the regulated firm's wage levels exceed market averages.     

Contemporary Developments in Employee Relations in Food Retailing

Over the past decade considerable attention has been focused upon the changing nature of the retail food sector. While some attempts have been made to detail the implications for employee relations, the majority of studies have chosen in-depth qualitative research. While all such study is to be welcomed, it is necessary to place such focused research into the context of sectoral change. This article provides an overview of the major developments within food retailing and details their impact upon contemporary employment relations.     

The role and function of the independent small shop: the situation in Scotland

Independent shops are numerically dominant in the British retail system, providing a range of functions and roles in various locational situations. Reporting on survey work in Scotland with independent shop owners and their customers, this paper details these roles and functions as well as attitudes towards the provision. The community and social role played by these shops in certain locations is emphasized, while in others a breakdown of trust between retailers and consumers is identified. Policy making about independent retailing needs to understand more closely these differences by locational type.