Multi-tiered private labels portfolio strategies: Effects on consumer behavior

Abstract

Retailers wish to expand their standard private label (PL) adopting a multi-tiered portfolio. We study the effects produced by the introduction of two new PLs quality-tiers (economy and premium) on the market share of various national brands (NB; premium-quality and second-tier) and the standard PL. This study proposes a model that accommodates three effects (similarity, attraction, and compromise) for understanding how the introduction of economy and premium PL may affect market incumbents. This study also analyzes the effects of introducing new PL quality-tiers for customer segments. Our results indicate that when economy and premium PL are introduced in the market, the choice probability of standard PL decreases, especially for high purchase quantity customers and PL loyal customers. In addition, introduction of a premium PL decreases the choice probability of second-tier NB and premium-quality NB, especially for PL loyal customers and high purchase quantity customers.     

How capital markets assess the credibility and accuracy of CSR reporting: Exploring the effects of assurance quality and CSR restatement issuance

This research examines how the credibility and accuracy of corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosures enhance market confidence by exploring their effect on the cost of capital. How do capital markets react to higher-quality assurance of CSR reporting? Can the hypothetical reduction in the cost of capital that assurance quality produces be explained by restatements of previous information given in these CSR reports? We explore the relationship between assurance quality, as a proxy for credibility and market confidence, and the mediating effect of CSR restatements as indicators of accuracy. We propose regression models with a sample of CSR reports issued by European companies. Building upon the signalling and legitimacy theories, the results support the positive effect of higher assurance quality statements on market confidence by confirming a decrease in the cost of capital; assurance quality gives an indication of credibility to the capital market and restatements related to methodological updates signal accuracy. The reduction in the cost of capital brought on by higher assurance quality appears to be determined by the issuance of CSR restatements, which create legitimacy for both client companies and assurance providers. CSR reporting and assurance have reached a greater level of maturity as demonstrated by the evolution of these practices and financial market perceptions.     

Forest transition in Northern Spain: Local responses on large-scale programmes of field-afforestation

Public field-afforestation schemes have been designed and widely implemented as a measure to alleviate uneven distribution, generate economic growth in rural areas and maintain or improve natural resources. The literature on forest management and planning has improved land-related information systems, allowing policy-makers to design and implement future policies on the allocation of forestland uses, and to forecast the land requirements of the target population more closely. The aim of this article is to empirically examine and validate the temporal and spatial land use changes and the socioeconomic effects linked to field-afforestation on private lands in the province of Lugo (Galicia, Northern Spain) at the municipal, parish and individual farm holding levels. Two main top-down field-afforestation programmes are reviewed in the study area: the national programme of public afforestations started with the implementation of Ley de Patrimonio Forestal del Estado (National Forest Estate Act; NFE) from 1941 to 2000, and the European aid scheme for forestry measures established under European Council Regulation No. 2080/1992 from 1993 to 1997. The results of a survey, targeted at 1355 farmers and conducted through questionnaires in the province of Lugo in 2004, complete the analysis of public intervention in forest management. The results indicate that the specific social, economic and environmental context of an agricultural and forestry area involves a differential heritage of land customs that determines a differential response model to forest programmes of land allocation and planning. Therefore, this must not be underestimated by the quantitative or qualitative general objectives of large-scale policies.     

The introduction of seasonal unit roots and cointegration to test index aggregation optimality: An application to a Spanish farm price index

In this paper we present a methodological proposal of the way integration and cointegration analysis can best be used to test if the level of aggregation of an index is adequate. Using this proposal, we enquire the extent to which a Spanish aggregate farm price index captures the behavior of its components. First version received: October 1994/final version received: September 1998     

How does working capital management affect the profitability of Spanish SMEs?

This paper analyzes the relation between working capital management and profitability for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by controlling for unobservable heterogeneity and possible endogeneity. Unlike previous studies, we examine a non-linear relation between these two variables. Our results show that there is a non-monotonic (concave) relationship between working capital level and firm profitability, which indicates that SMEs have an optimal working capital level that maximizes their profitability. In addition, a robustness check of our results confirms that firms?? profitability decreases as they move away from their optimal level.     

The client as co-manufacturer and environmental entrepreneur: a research agenda

The purpose of this article is to detect issues of greatest interest and to establish a proposal that can be used as a basis to study the client's environmental entrepreneurship in service sector companies. The study is based on the existing literature on service innovation and the bibliography dedicated to environmental management specific to these innovations. This study poses a few questions that, together with many others, must be addressed in the future. These studies will inevitably contribute to improve the environmental performance of service companies.     

Individual and place-based drivers of self-employment in Chile

This paper analyzes the importance of individual and place characteristics on the selection into self-employment in Chile. Following a structural and multilevel empirical approach, we test whether both sets of variables explain the variation of individual wages, self-employed earnings, and the propensity of being in independent work. The results indicate that while most of the variation in these three outcomes is explained by individuals’ traits, place-related variables account for a non-negligible share of spatial variation. Second, as suggested by occupational choice theories, the propensity of being in self-employment positively correlates with larger expected earning differentials, but only in the case of employers. This, along with other results, suggests that while employers seem to choose their occupational status, own accounts in Chile seem to respond to factors pushing them into self-employment.     

The importance of packaging in purchase and usage behaviour

This study's primary objective is to analyse how consumers evaluate product packaging in two distinct phases of the consumer decision‐making process: at the moment of acquisition and post‐consumption. The packaging's technical, functional and informative attributes, as well as its influence on satisfaction and loyalty, were evaluated. An empirical study was conducted with a product of immediate consumption, milk, using four versions of packaging and a total sample of 265 family units. The model was evaluated using partial least squares (PLS), and differences were compared using variance analysis. The results demonstrate the most and least valued attributes, the primary differences between the four types of packaging, and the perception generated at each moment. The research provides interesting theoretical and empirical perspectives and has business implications for marketing directors and product managers.     

Food Prices,Ethics and Forms of Speculation

Journal of Business Ethics - This paper examines the role of speculative motives in the determination of commodity prices and specifically food related commodity prices. The motivation for this...