“Reading” whiteness in consumer research

The concept of whiteness has been widely debated in the social sciences and humanities but has rarely surfaced as a theme in consumer research. This paper introduces whiteness theory as an additional theoretical perspective available to consumer researchers to add to those that are well established. The empirical section of the paper comprises a textual analysis of articles published in the Journal of Consumer Research from 1974–2004. The findings suggest that consumer research is dominated by “white faces” and “white spaces,” resulting in many investigators consciously or unconsciously performing whiteness. The ways whiteness can be re‐articulated to stimulate more interest within consumer research are discussed.     

Dominant personality types in public accounting: selection bias or indoctrinated?

Prior studies concerning the personality type and preferences of accountants generally draw conclusions based upon the reports of either practicing accountants, or accounting students, at a single point in time. So while much is known about the personality type of accountants in general, left unexplored is the question of whether public accountants are selected or indoctrinated. Using a Jungian-based personality inventory administered to experienced public accountants, and to accounting students in both their final year of study and three years' postgraduation, we provide empirical evidence of hiring selection bias. Further, the personality preferences of recruits that remain in public accounting appear to evolve to more closely match the personality preferences of experienced public accountants, while the personality preferences of recruits that leave public accounting are unchanged. These results have important implications for individuals seeking to enter public accounting careers, recruiters, educators, and career counselors.     

Shopper Response to Front-of-Package Nutrition Labeling Programs: Potential Consumer and Retail Store Benefits

A myriad of front-of-package (FOP) nutrition labeling systems have been developed by both food retailers (e.g., Walmart, Safeway, Hannaford) and manufacturers (e.g., Kellogg's, General Mills) to help consumers identify more healthful options at the point-of-purchase. Given the uniqueness of these different approaches, two studies examine the effects of alternative FOP systems on shoppers’ product evaluations, choices, and retailer evaluations. When a single food item is evaluated in isolation, both the reductive and evaluative systems had a positive effect on product evaluations. However, when several choice options are presented simultaneously in a realistic retail environment, the evaluative (reductive) system has a stronger (weaker) influence on product evaluation and choice. Results also show that FOP nutrition labeling systems have both direct and moderating effects on attitude toward the retailer and perceived retailer concern for shoppers. These retailer-related outcomes, in turn, mediate the effects of the labeling system on shoppers’ intentions to patronize the retailer. Results suggest that FOP nutrition labeling may help retailers build a non-price competitive advantage.     

Engineering bureaucracy: the genesis of formal policies, positions, and structures in high-technology firms

This article examines the impact of organizational foundingconditions on several facets of bureaucratization - managerialintensity, the proliferation of specialized managerial and administrativeroles, and formalization of employment relations. Analyzinginformation on a sample of technology start-ups in California'sSilicon Valley, we characterize the organizational models orblueprints espoused by founders in creating new enterprises.We find that those models and the social composition of thelabor force at the time of founding had enduring effects ongrowth in managerial intensity (i.e., reliance on managerialand administrative specialists) over time. Our analysis thusprovide compelling evidence of path dependence in the evolutionof bureaucracy - even in a context in which firms face intenseselection pressures - and underscore the importance of the 'logicsof organizing' that founders bring to new enterprises. We findless evidence that founding models exert persistent effectson the formalization of employment relations or on the proliferationof specialized senior management titles. Rather, consistentwith neo-institutional perspectives on organizations, thosesuperficial facets of bureaucracy appear to be shaped by theneed to satisfy external gatekeepers (venture capitalists andthe constituents of public corporations), as well as by exigenciesof organizational scale, growth, and aging. We discuss someimplications of these results for efforts to understand thevarieties, determinants, and consequences of bureaucracy.     

Implications of accurate usage of nutrition facts panel information for food product evaluations and purchase intentions

The nutrition facts panel on food packages was designed to provide comprehensible quantitative nutrition information that would allow consumers to make more informed food choices that could result in significant long-term health benefits. This study (1) examines how accurately consumers can use nutrient information in the facts panel to determine if a product has more or less than the recommended daily values of certain nutrients and (2) offers predictions and tests of the relationships between this usage ability and product nutrition evaluations and purchase intentions. Results show that more accurate use moderates the effect of product nutrition value on consumer evaluations, as predicted. Findings also reveal that several variables (e.g., measures of nutrition knowledge, attitude toward the “facts” label) are related to accuracy in the usage task. Implications based on these findings are offered. Scot Burton is a professor and Wal-Mart chairholder in the Department of Marketing and Transportation at the University of Arkansas. His research interests include public policy and consumer welfare concerns, consumer price and promotion perceptions, and survey research measurement issues. His work has been published in theJournal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Public Opinion Quarterly, Journal of Applied Psychology, and other journals. Judith A. Garretson is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Marketing and Transportation at the University of Arkansas. Her research interests include promotion issues public policy and consumer welfare, and consumer behavior in general. Her work has appeared in journals including theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, and theJournal of Professional Services Marketing, as well as in conference proceedings such as the American Marketing Association and the Association for Consumer Research. Anne M. Velliquette is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Marketing and Transportation at the University of Arkansas. Her research interests include consumer behavior and public policy. She has published in theJournal of Public Policy & Marketing, Journal of Professional Services Marketing, and proceedings of the Association for Consumer Research as well as other conference proceedings and journals.     

Are returns to research quality lower in agricultural economics than in economics?

We compare effects of research quality and quantity on the salary of academics in agricultural economics and economics departments of the same universities. Agricultural economists get a significantly lower payoff to research quality, whether measured by quality‐weighted journal articles (based on nine different weighting schemes) or by citations. Instead, salary depends on the quantity of journal articles, while article counts have no independent effect on economist salaries. These differences in the reward structure for research are not due to either the extension focus of agricultural economists or to disciplinary differences in publishing with students and instead may reflect institutional factors that govern incentives within universities. One‐third of academics in the agricultural economics departments studied here have doctoral training in economics; the very different disciplinary reward structures may cause frustration for these faculty due to the muted returns to research quality that agricultural economics departments seem to offer.     

“Resistance is futile”: estimating the costs of managing herbicide resistance as a first‐order Markov process and the case of U.S. upland cotton producers

A 2012 survey of upland U.S. cotton producers was analyzed to determine the factors contributing to changes in weed management costs (WMCs) after the identification of herbicide‐resistant weeds. An ordered probit regression estimated changes in WMC as a first‐order Markov process. The most important determinants of post‐resistance cost increases were initial WMCs, adoption of labor‐intensive remedial practices, and wick application of herbicides. Cultivation and mechanical/chemical‐intensive practices did not increase WMCs. Post‐resistance changes in WMC ranged between $85 and $138 ha^?1, depending on the practices adopted. WMCs increased by $88 ha^?1 when cost‐neutral practices were adopted. The in‐sample aggregate costs of managing herbicide resistance ranged between $25 and $53 million, depending on the types of adopted practices.     

Factors influencing adoption of conservation tillage in Australian cropping regions*

The purpose of this research is to improve understanding of conservation tillage adoption decisions by identifying key biophysical and socio‐economic factors influencing no‐till adoption by grain growers across four Australian cropping regions. The study is based on interviews with 384 grain growers using a questionnaire aimed at eliciting perceptions relating to a range of possible long‐ and short‐term agronomic interactions associated with the relative economic advantage of shifting to a no‐tillage cropping system. Together with other farm and farmer‐specific variables, a dichotomous logistic regression analysis was used to identify opportunities for research and extension to facilitate more rapid adoption decisions. The broader systems approach to considering conservation tillage adoption identified important determinants of adoption not associated with soil conservation and erosion prevention benefits. Most growers recognised the erosion‐reducing benefits of no‐till but it was not an important factor in explaining whether a grower was an adopter or non‐adopter. Perceptions associated with shorter‐term crop production benefits under no‐till, such as the relative effectiveness of pre‐emergent herbicides and the ability to sow crops earlier on less rainfall were influential. Employment of a consultant and increased attendance of cropping extension activities were strongly associated with no‐till adoption, confirming the information and learning‐intensive nature of adopting no‐till cropping systems.