An exploratory study of environmental attitudes and the willingness to pay for environmental certification in Mexico

This paper explores how environmental attitudes of consumers in Mexico influence their willingness to pay a premium (or, marginal WTP) for environmentally-certified products. In addition, we also challenge the theoretical assumption that the relationship between environmental attitudes and purchasing is linear. We test our hypotheses with an analysis of marginal WTP based on a survey of 301 Mexican consumers. Using conjoint analysis to determine marginal WTP, we find support for the idea that as attitudes become more pro-environmental, they more than proportionally boost marginal WTP. We conclude our paper by discussing implications for research and practice that focus on environmental segments of consumers.     

Are Food Certification Costs Misestimated? Exporter‐Perspective on the European Standard

Food safety regulations aimed at controlling food contamination have sometimes been criticised as excessive burdens, disadvantaging smaller firms and exports from developing nations. Reported food safety expenditures appear relatively small (from <1 to 7% of the value of production) but can erode profit margins for many firms. This article responds to claims that reported firm‐level expenditures do not reflect true costs of compliance with food safety systems. We estimate incidental cost savings and uncounted costs associated with Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) certification among Philippine seafood producers by modelling the interactions between conventional production and food safety expenditures using translog cost functions. Results indicate a significant underestimation of reported HACCP costs by an average of US$1.10 for a dollar of reported expenditure.     

The relationships between political support,party strength,and term limits

This paper translates two implications of a recent game-theoretical explanation for term limitations [Mao, 2001] into an empirical context for testing. One implication involves the pattern of political support for a candidate over time and its relationship to the strength of the candidate's party. To test this implication, this study focuses on the careers of senators of the 106^th Congress and applies a suitable regression analysis. Consistent with Mao's theory, the statistical evidence suggests that the greater the strength of the candidate's party, the longer it takes for the politician's support to spread beyond his or her party. A second implication pertains to the effect of the majority party's strength on the likelihood of term limit legislation being passed. To test this implication, the study focuses on the states' stances on federal term limits, prior to 1995, and applies a probit analysis. In this case, the statistical evidence suggests that the greater the strength of the majority party, the less likely the state to have passed federal term limit legislation. The relationship is not statistically significant by conventional standards, though it is nearly so. However, taken together, these empirical results are generally supportive of Mao [2001].     

Further evidence of the added-worker effect among white couples

Summary A logit technique is used to estimate couples' joint probabilities of various labor force statuses, given their personal characteristics. Conditional probabilities of the labor force status of wives are inferred. Women whose husbands face employment constraints are compared with counterparts whose husbands face no employment constraints. The results tend to confirm an added-worker effect, especially among women whose husbands are unemployed.The authors aro Assistant Professor at Villanova University in Villanova, PA, and Associate Professor at Widener University in Chester, PA, respectively, and are equally responsible for the contents of this paper.     

Effects of counterfactual thought on postpurchase consumer affect

This study explored the effects of counterfactual thinking (CFT) on postpurchase consumer affect. CFT is the process of imagining what might have been, that is, comparing reality (what is; the facts) with alternative possibilities. In a vignette study, the presence or absence of CFT, its direction (upward or downward), and outcome valence (positive, negative, or neutral) were manipulated. The participants' tendencies toward strategic optimism and defensive pessimism were measured, and the impact of these factors on postpurchase affect was observed. As expected, results indicated that negative outcomes were associated with greater levels of spontaneous counterfactual thought, and greater affective amplification was associated with the presence of counterfactual thought. More surprising was the finding that consumer regret increased with both downward and upward counterfactual thought, indicating that both contrast and assimilation mechanisms may be operational. With respect to personality, strategic optimists were less sensitive to purchase outcomes and counterfactual thought manipulations than were other respondents. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The changing consumer in Germany

Changes in economic, demographic, and cultural factors in West Germany during the past decades are briefly described, as well as changes in consumption patterns and the way the major marketing variables have been used and implemented. Special attention is paid to the upheavals caused by the German reunification. Implications for marketing management are drawn by proposing eight bipolar constructs.     

Shared decision-making in tourism land use planning

A Canadian government commission dealing with environmental resources attempted to incorporate several innovative approaches for shared decision-making into its strategic land use planning process for central British Columbia. This paper describes a framework of design and evaluative criteria for guiding such shared decision-making processes. It uses these criteria to assess the efficacy of the process from the perspective of those tourism stakeholders who participated in this planning exercise. The article offers recommendations to government as well as tourism sector organizations concerning the management of future public land use planning strategies designed to fully incorporate stakeholders into such processes.

Résumé

Les décisions partagées au sujet de la politique foncière du tourisme. Une commission du gouvernement canadien s'occupant des ressources environnementales a essayé d'incorporer plusieurs nouvelles méthodes de décisions partagées dans la planification des stratégies d'utilisation foncière pour la Colombie britannique centrale. Cet article décrit un cadre de critères pour la conception et l'évaluation des processus de décisions partagées. L'article utilise ces critères pour mesurer l'efficacité du processus du point de vue des planificateurs. Il fait des recommandations au gouvernement et aux organisations touristiques au sujet de la planification et de la future gestion de l'utilisation de la propriété publique pour que tous les intéressés soient compris dans ces processus.     

Characteristics and outcomes of grievance arbitration decisions in hospitality firms

The establishment of a grievance arbitration process in the collective bargaining agreement remains the principal method for resolving contractual disputes in unionized settings in the US. This study presents an analysis of grievance arbitration cases in the hospitality industry published during the period from January 1985 through December 1995. It examines some of the unique characteristics of arbitration in this industry. Included is a discussion of the significant implications of arbitration cases for the training of managers and supervisors responsible for the application of the discipline process, and the resolution of disciplinary grievances.     

Barriers to Lone Parents' Employment Looking beyond the obvious

In Britain, unemployment amongst lone parents remains persistently high. It does so despite government funded employment and training initiatives, and the tightening of welfare benefits. In October 1998, the Government launched its National Child Care Strategy, aimed partly at getting lone parents back to work. Whilst lack of affordable child care is a crucial barrier to employment for lone parents, without an understanding of the complexity of the transition from benefits to employment, the strategy will have little effect. This article looks at that transition in relation to the neighbourhoods in which many lone parents live.     

Implications for Savings of Aging in the Asian 'Tigers'

Significant aging is projected for many high-saving emerging economies of East and Southeast Asia. By 2025, the share of the elderly in their populations will at least double in most of these countries. The share of the young will fall. Aging populations could adversely affect savings rates in these economies, particularly after 2025. For the world, one may observe that initially, the Asian Tigers become increasingly important for world savings, reflecting their high saving and growth rates and the aging of the industrial countries. After 2025, the aging of the Tigers may reinforce the tendency toward a declining world savings rate.