The abject single: exploring the gendered experience of singleness in Britain

Abstract

This paper explores the gendered experience of singleness in Britain through a theoretical and empirical understanding of the abject. Drawing on the writings of Judith Butler, we argue that singleness is culturally pathologised as an abject ‘other’, a liminal state which renders the legitimation of the single subject unintelligible. Through 14 active interviews with British singles, we demonstrate how our participants negotiate their marginal status vis-à-vis the marketplace and the broader society that continue to uphold heterosexual partnership as a normative form of intimacy. Our data uncovers persistent and powerful gender stereotypes of how singles ought to organise their lives and conform both to social, as well as market-driven pressures. We therefore highlight research gaps in the experience of singleness and critique the heteronormative framework that remains dominant, yet concealed, in gender research.     

What will business-to-business marketers learn from neuro-marketing? Insights for business marketing practice

This research note offers expert comments on the boundaries and frontiers of neuro-marketing application for business-to-business (B-to-B) marketing. This is done using a practice-led approach to discuss the boundaries and frontiers of neuro-marketing application for B-to-B marketing. Insights are provided into what neuro-marketing is, is not, can do, cannot do, should do, and should not do in B-to-B settings. This note can assist B-to-B marketing academics, practitioners, and neuroscientists in understanding the boundaries and frontiers of B-to-B neuro-marketing application. This note outlines how neuroscience can be appropriately applied in theoretical and practical B-to-B marketing endeavors. This note offers a useful response to a series of common but often inadequately answered or unanswered questions on B-to-B neuro-marketing application.     

Approach to service design based on customer behavior data: a case study on eco-driving service design using bus drivers’ behavior data

Various types and massive amounts of customer behavior data are collected in various industries, such as transportation, healthcare, hospitality, and logistics. The use of customer behavior data can improve the design activities of service firms. Despite the applicability of customer behavior data to service design, only a few studies have examined an approach to utilize customer behavior data in service design. This study proposes an approach for designing services with customer behavior data. The approach is based on a case study on eco-driving service design with the behavior data of bus drivers. This study extends the research on service design by demonstrating how customer behavior data are utilized for service design and assisting service designers in designing services with customer behavior data.     

Customer loyalty to newly opened cafés and restaurants in Malaysia

An extended review of the literature indicates that there is an insufficient number of past studies which test the SERVQUAL model (tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy) in the food and beverage industry. Therefore, this research attempts to provide new insight into the impact of service quality on customer loyalty in the food and beverage industry. The purpose of the research is to determine the impact of service quality and price fairness on customer loyalty in the food and beverage industry in Penang, Malaysia. This article surveyed the customers of newly opened cafés and restaurants in Penang, Malaysia, by using a structured questionnaire. The research revealed that service quality (tangibles, reliability, assurance, and empathy) and price fairness have a positive relationship with customer loyalty. However, responsiveness had no relationship with customer loyalty. This article includes an additional independent variable, price fairness, to investigate customer loyalty.     

AN ANALYTICAL SOLUTION FOR THE TWO‐SIDED PARISIAN STOPPING TIME,ITS ASYMPTOTICS,AND THE PRICING OF PARISIAN OPTIONS

In this paper, we obtain a recursive formula for the density of the two‐sided Parisian stopping time. This formula does not require any numerical inversion of Laplace transforms, and is similar to the formula obtained for the one‐sided Parisian stopping time derived in Dassios and Lim. However, when we study the tails of the two distributions, we find that the two‐sided stopping time has an exponential tail, while the one‐sided stopping time has a heavier tail. We derive an asymptotic result for the tail of the two‐sided stopping time distribution and propose an alternative method of approximating the price of the two‐sided Parisian option.     

A Model of Ethical Decision Making: The Integration of Process and Content

We develop a model of ethical decision making that integrates the decision-making process and the content variables considered by individuals facing ethical dilemmas. The process described in the model is drawn from Janis and Mann’s [1977, Decision Making: A Psychological Analysis of Conflict Choice and Commitment (The Free Press, New York)] work describing the decision process in an environment of conflict, choice and commitment. The model is enhanced by the inclusion of content variables derived from the ethics literature. The resulting integrated model aids in understanding the complexity of the decision process used by individuals facing ethical dilemmas and suggests variable interactions that could be field-tested. A better understanding of the process will help managers develop policies that enhance the likelihood of ethical behavior in their organizations. Roselie McDevitt Sc.D. is Assistant Professor of Accounting at␣the Charles F. Dolan School of Business at Fairfield University in Fairfield, Connecticut. Dr. McDevitt teaches financial and managerial accounting. Her Primary areas of research are accounting education and accounting ethics. Catherine Giapponi is an Assistant Professor of Management at the Charles F. Dolan School of Business at Fairfield University in Fairfield, Connecticut. Dr. Giapponi teaches courses in management, organizational behavior, and strategy. Her primary areas of research are corporate governance and business ethics. Cheryl Tromley, Ph.D., is a Professor of Management at␣Fairfield University where she has taught management, organizational behavior, organizational communication, organizational␣culture, organization development, and diversity for 19 years. She has co-authored two editions of the text ``Developing Managerial Skills in Organizational Behavior'␣as well authored or co-authored a significant number of professional articles and presentations related to management and management education.     

Does rising import competition harm local firm productivity in less advanced economies? Evidence from the Vietnam's manufacturing sector

This paper examines whether rising import penetration has an effect on the productivity of domestic firms. The study uses data on a 10-year unbalanced panel of firms in the manufacturing sector in Vietnam from 2000 to 2009. Panel and instrumental variable methods are used to control firm heterogeneity and endogeneity of import penetration. We find statistically significant and negative effects of import competition on local firms’ productivity, but the effect in terms of magnitude is economically small. Further investigation shows no clear evidence of variations in the effects by firm size and technological level. However, we find that rising import penetration is associated with the likelihood of firm death.     

Late Disclosure of Insider Trades: Who Does It and Why?

We attempt to understand the personal incentives that motivate corporate insiders to engage in unethical behavior such as delayed trade disclosure. Delayed disclosure affects corporate transparency and other shareholders in the firm potentially suffer investment losses because they are unaware of insiders’ activities. Using archival data from the 300 largest Australian firms between 2007 and 2011, the results show that risk factors such as insider age and tenure and wealth effects in the form of insider shareholdings affect the likelihood of delayed reporting. Governance positions such as committee membership mitigate this behavior. Our study highlights the importance of considering individual insider’s wealth and risk factors. The self-monitoring role of governance positions is also indicative of the effectiveness of internal corporate governance in the prevention of illegal insider behavior.     

Hedonic vs. utilitarian consumption: A cross-cultural perspective based on cultural conditioning

This study investigates the effects of cultural conditioning, product type, and benefit claim type on attitudes and brand personality perceptions among consumers from a society that is more culturally conditioned towards utilitarian consumption (Shanghai, China) and an economy that is less culturally conditioned towards utilitarian consumption (Singapore). Our findings reveal that consumers in Shanghai preferred ads promoting utilitarian rather than hedonic products. They also rated brands of utilitarian products as more sophisticated, competent, exciting, and sincere than hedonic products. No such difference was observed among Singaporeans. These consumers preferred hedonic over utilitarian products but did not perceive them as being different from utilitarian products in terms of brand personality. Theoretical and managerial implications are forwarded, together with directions for future research.