Thinking and feeling on the World Wide Web: the impact of product type and time on World Wide Web advertising effectiveness

This article focuses on the effectiveness of banner advertisements.Drawing from theory on functional versus expressive products and wear in versus wear out it argues that product type and time are important factors in World Wide Web (WWW) advertising. The results from a large empirical study are reported and show that responses to banner advertisements differ between functional and expressive products and over time. Functional product banner advertisements have higher initial click-throughs that quickly deteriorate and they have no effect through advertisement impressions. Expressive products need time to wear in as both click-through rates and positive brand attitudes from advertisement impressions increase with repeated exposures. These differences in consumer response are conceptualized as thinking and feeling on the WWW,thereby providing important implications for advertisers.     

The corporation and its employees: A case story

One of the main objectives in the information society is to improve the quality of life. — Paying attention to the needs of people seems to be a key element in good ethical behaviour, says Tor Dahl, Managing Director of Manpower Scandinavia. In defining these needs, Manpower used Abraham Maslow's famous pyramid, his hierarchy of needs, as a model for trying to satisfy in practise the needs on each level. However, they went a step further, asking; what comes after Maslow? To mean something for others; togetherness and that people can be trusted and that they seek a purpose with their work, came out as answers. In his paper Mr. Dahl tells us how Manpower Scandinavia has developed a written set of values, which function as a basis for action and guidelines for behaviour, and where the key idea behind it all is to let people be self-managed. Furthermore, he shows us how Manpower has organised the company according to this conviction. — If your really have faith in people and show them trust, they will show you trust in return. Then you have a good basis for ethical behaviour, Tor Dahl concludes his paper.     

On systematic mortality risk and risk-minimization with survivor swaps

A new market for so-called mortality derivatives is now appearing with survivor swaps (also called mortality swaps), longevity bonds and other specialized solutions. The development of these new financial instruments is triggered by the increased focus on the systematic mortality risk inherent in life insurance contracts, and their main focus is thus to allow the life insurance companies to hedge their systematic mortality risk. At the same time, this new class of financial contract is interesting from an investor's point of view, since it increases the possibility for an investor to diversify the investment portfolio. The systematic mortality risk stems from the uncertainty related to the future development of the mortality intensities. Mathematically, this uncertainty is described by modeling the underlying mortality intensities via stochastic processes. We consider two different portfolios of insured lives, where the underlying mortality intensities are correlated, and study the combined financial and mortality risk inherent in a portfolio of general life insurance contracts. In order to hedge this risk, we allow for investments in survivor swaps and derive risk-minimizing strategies in markets where such contracts are available. The strategies are evaluated numerically.     

Longer-term forecasting and risks in spatial optimization models: The world grain trade

This study develops a methodology to quantify risks associated with projected commodity flows in a spatial optimization model. In this paper it is applied to the world grain trade which is characteristic of numerous commodities and with complicated and competing logistical channels in world trade. The model provides a longer-run solution by simultaneously allowing for changes in production patterns, trade flows, and intermodal, interport and inter-reach allocation of shipments. Results show that important factors affecting shipments include: changes in demand across countries, delay costs, and the increased domestic use of grains. Findings of interest show delay costs on barges shift movements to rail, other origins and ports. Second, there is much greater uncertainty for projections for more distant periods forward. Finally, the model can be applied similarly to other commodities and/or be used to analyze spatial flows concentrated in other geographic regions.     

The Timing and Persistence of CRA Compliance Ratings

We evaluate supervisory practices in enforcing the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) by examining whether or not supervisors consider observable, bank-specific characteristics in (1) scheduling CRA compliance examinations and (2) determining whether, and for how long, a given CRA rating persists. Failure to confirm such a relationship would be consistent with criticism that the evaluation criteria are so vague that supervisors can essentially assign any rating they want for compliance purposes. Analysis of a sample of several thousand commercial banks, observed over a relatively stable regulatory regime, indicates that both examination scheduling and the persistence of examination ratings are associated with residential loan levels, a presumed cornerstone of the CRA, as well as other financial, regulatory and market factors. We conclude that CRA enforcement during this period reflected, at least in part, objective evaluation criteria.     

Strategic use of futures and options by commodity processors

The impacts of input–output price relationships on end-users' demands for positions in futures and options are analyzed using a mean-variance portfolio model and applied to price risk management in the bread manufacturing industry. A production relationship was assumed between the input and resultant output, and correlation between the input and output prices were introduced into the portfolio model. The optimal hedge ratio can be either positive or negative depending upon the relationship between the input and output price standard deviation adjusted for production technology and input–output price correlation. Introduction of a call option into the portfolio (in addition to the futures) does not change the hedging demand for futures; however, the speculative component changes. The results show that the addition of input–output linear production and price correlation relationships would not justify a hedging role for options unless there is bias in the futures and/or options markets.     

A Code of Ethics for Social Marketing? Bridging Procedural Ethics and Ethics-in-Practice

We consider the role of codes of ethics in social marketing, distinguishing between “procedural ethics” and “ethics-in-practice” (after Guillemin & Gillam, 2004). We review foundations for “procedural ethics”—formal systems for ethical oversight—including moral and political philosophy, existing codes of ethics, and previous proposals for codes of ethics for social marketing. We then discuss “ethics-in-practice,” the ethical dimensions of the small moments that comprise everyday life. We connect this idea to Aristotle’s concept of phronesis, the practical wisdom to respond in just the right way to particular situations. Supporting the ethical practice of social marketing will require both procedural ethics and ethics-in-practice, iteratively related to one another. We conclude with three tasks for the profession: (1) develop and apply norms, standards, and sanctions; (2) develop formal, procedural ethics, in a just way (e.g., codes of ethics); and (3) support social marketers to develop ethics-in-practice, or phronesis.     

Headlights on tobacco road to low birthweight outcomes

Low birthweight outcomes are associated with considerable social and economic costs, and therefore the possible determinants of low birthweight are of great interest. One such determinant which has received considerable attention is maternal smoking. From an economic perspective this is in part due to the possibility that smoking habits can be influenced through policy conduct. It is widely believed that maternal smoking reduces birthweight; however, the crucial difficulty in estimating such effects is the unobserved heterogeneity among mothers and the fact that estimation of conditional mean effects seems potentially inappropriate. We provide a unified view on the estimation of relationships between prenatal smoking and birthweight outcomes with quantile regression approaches for panel data and emphasize their differences. This paper contributes to the literature in three ways: (i) we focus not only on one technique, but provide evidence from several approaches and highlight a variety of statistical issues; (ii) the performance of the methods are thoroughly tested in a simulated environment, and recommendations are given on their appropriate use; (iii) our results are based on a detailed data set, which includes many relevant control variables for socio-economic, wealth, and personal characteristics.     

The impact of creative media advertising on consumer responses: two field experiments

Abstract

Creative media (CM) advertising is an advertising strategy wherein a non-traditional medium is creatively used for advertising purposes. This novel advertising strategy is gaining marketers’ interest; however, little is known about its persuasive effects on consumers’ cognitive, affective and behavioural responses and the processes that underlie them. Therefore, to convey a genuine experience to consumers, two field experiments with a one-factor (advertising type: creative vs. traditional) between-subjects design were conducted within a supermarket context. Results showed that creative (vs. traditional) media ads not only improve consumers’ affective and behavioural responses but also consumers’ cognitive responses. Even though no mediations were found through perceived surprise or perceived persuasive intent, results do provide evidence for the notion that perceived humor and perceived value are the underlying mechanisms through which affective and behavioural responses to creative media advertising can be explained.     

Call for papers: Special issue on Latin America

In green advertising research, images of pleasant nature scenery have been classified as vague, unspecific and possibly ineffective green claims, as opposed to substantive, informational claims. In this study, the concept of virtual nature experiences is introduced to point out a perceptual mechanism through which the association of a brand with nature imagery may indeed lead to significant advertising effects. Consumers’ exposure to specific nature imagery in green brand communications may lead to pleasant feelings analogous to those experienced in ‘real’ nature. If adequately conditioned, these ‘virtual nature experiences’ may enhance the consumer’s attitude towards a given brand. The perceptual and attitudinal effects of substantive green claims and nature imagery are analysed in the scope of an experimental study. The field study consisted of a national survey, allowing for the relative statistical representativeness of the sample. Results of the study confirm significant perceptual and attitudinal effects of both informational claims and virtual nature experiences. The latter are identified as a distinct perceptual dimension of green brand associations, and turn out to wield additional positive influences on the consumer’s attitude towards the brand.