On de-seasonalising adjusted-average formulae

The techniques of Borgan (1979) are extended to cover data with seasonal variations. Examples are given, and it is suggested that the formulae presented here give smoother results than those traditionally employed to deal with economic time series subject to seasonal variations.     

Contingent Valuation: Controversies and Evidence

Contingent valuation (CV) has become one of the most widely usednon-market valuation techniques. CV's prominence is due to itsflexibility and ability to estimate total value, includingpassive use value. Its use and the inclusion of passive use valuein benefit-cost analyses and environmental litigation are thesubject of a contentious debate. This paper discusses key areasof the debate over CV and the validity of passive use value. Weconclude that many of the alleged problems with CV can beresolved by careful study design and implementation. We furtherconclude that claims that empirical CV findings are theoreticallyinconsistent are not generally supported by the literature. Thedebate over CV, however, has clarified several key issues relatedto nonmarket valuation and can provide useful guidance both to CVpractitioners and the users of CV results.     

How co-branding versus brand extensions drive consumers' evaluations of new products: A brand equity approach

Current research into co-branding and brand extensions indicates that these marketing strategies benefit firms, yet marketing literature examines the concepts only independently. This article reports the findings of two studies, conducted among 256 students, that compare the effectiveness of co-branding versus brand extension strategies. The comparison of these strategies, both individually and concurrently, considers consumers' attitudes, quality perceptions, and purchase intentions toward a new product (i.e., Bluetooth-enabled sunglasses). The first study reveals that the presence of at least one high-equity brand in co-branding strategy suffices to leverage consumers' evaluations of a new product. However, the findings of the second study indicate no significant differences between co-branding and brand extensions in terms of consumer evaluations of an identical product.     

Customer satisfaction measurement and management: A processual analysis

Customer satisfaction (CS) measurement has been widely advocated as central to the pursuit of market orientation, total quality management, and competitive advantage by allowing management to monitor and improve performance in the terms most significant to customers. However, relatively little analytical attention has been devoted to the processual issues implicit in the adoption of CS measurement systems by organizations. This paper presents executive workshop data and new survey evidence to support the contention that both research and managerial agenda should be extended to recognize the multi‐dimensionality of organizational process, and the implications of that characteristic for the adoption and use of CS measurement systems.     

An approximation method to derive confidence intervals for quantiles with some applications

Standard jackknife confidence intervals for a quantile Q _y (β) are usually preferred to confidence intervals based on analytical variance estimators due to their operational simplicity. However, the standard jackknife confidence intervals can give undesirable coverage probabilities for small samples sizes and large or small values of β. In this paper confidence intervals for a population quantile based on several existing estimators of a quantile are derived. These intervals are based on an approximation for the cumulative distribution function of a studentized quantile estimator. Confidence intervals are empirically evaluated by using real data and some applications are illustrated. Results derived from simulation studies show that proposed confidence intervals are narrower than confidence intervals based on the standard jackknife technique, which assumes normal approximation. Proposed confidence intervals also achieve coverage probabilities above to their nominal level. This study indicates that the proposed method can be an alternative to the asymptotic confidence intervals, which can be unknown in practice, and the standard jackknife confidence intervals, which can have poor coverage probabilities and give wider intervals.     

Thirty years of research on tourism and hospitality management in China: A review and analysis of journal publications

The tourism industry in China has undergone rapid development since 1978 and is foreseen as being the world's largest tourism market by 2020. However, no comprehensive review of literature in this context has been completed, and international academics have little understanding of China tourism research. This paper aims to provide an overview of 119 articles selected from six leading English language academic journals published from 1978 to 2008. Content analysis points to the evolving trend in Asian universities in terms of journal contributions. Consumer behavior has gained popularity as a research topic, and will likely remain as a prevalent research theme in the near future. A tendency toward multiple-authorship, rather than single authorship, and more sophisticated methodological procedures has also been found. Future analysis may focus on including other forms of publications and Chinese language journals to capture the full picture of China tourism.