Information sufficiency and attribution of responsibility: predicting support for climate change policy and pro-environmental behavior

This study extends the central part of the risk information seeking and processing model to examine how message elaboration influences individuals’ support for climate change mitigation policy and their intention to engage in pro-environmental behavior. Data were collected through online experimental surveys at two large universities in the Northeastern United States. Results indicate that perceived issue salience triggered negative affect and information insufficiency, both of which prompted systematic processing, which subsequently led to greater policy support and stronger intention to adopt more pro-environmental behaviors. From an applied perspective, this study suggests important pathways to encourage greater message elaboration, which may lead to increased public support for mitigation policies and adoption of pro-environmental behavior.     

Trust and affect: how do they impact risk information seeking in a health context?

This study examines college students’ intention to seek information about the H1N1 flu vaccine. We specifically focused on the relationship between trust and affect and whether they work together to influence risk information seeking. Results indicated that positive affect moderated the relationship between trust and information seeking, but negative affect did not. While both positive affect and negative affect influenced risk information seeking, when combined with trust, only positive affect remained as a significant predictor. These results suggest that by understanding the role that trust and affect play, medical professionals and disease control agencies can tailor their communication efforts to increase an individual’s intention to seek information about preventive measures. Specifically, maintaining the public’s trust and positive feelings toward these entities is key to successful communication about prevention measures such as vaccination.     

Ethical claims and labelling: An analysis of consumers' beliefs and choice behaviours

Abstract

Although consumers' growing interest in ethical consumption has been well-documented, their understanding of specific claims, and the link between their stated concerns and behaviour, has not. Using a framework from systematic-heuristic and behaviour modification theory, this study explored consumers' understanding of varied ethical claims and a specific eco-label, and then estimated the effect these stimuli had on their choice behaviours. In-depth interviews revealed a strong interest in environmental and social attributes but considerable scepticism about specific claims. However, a choice modelling experiment found ethical attributes nevertheless influenced respondents' choices. Two distinct clusters whose views and choice behaviours differed markedly existed: one was primarily price-driven and the other more responsive to specific claims. Discrepancies between the qualitative and quantitative studies appear attributable to differences in information processing; many consumers respond strongly to heuristics, even though they believe themselves sceptical of the claims these communicate. The findings raise important policy questions about the scientific basis of many ethical claims, since consumers were strongly influenced by these, despite their views to the contrary.     

Innovations in Information Technology: Insights from Italian Renaissance Art

Information technologies help in defining historical eras. Innovations in information technology (IT) often lead to profound changes in social, cultural, and economic processes. Art historical approaches open up a realm of earlier forms of IT and provide productive fresh perspectives on technological innovations. Changes in image production during the Renaissance advanced possibilities for art to address or "hail" the viewer in more personal ways, implicating patrons and consumers alike within the artwork's system of meaning and value. Renaissance patrons successfully appropriated the form and symbols of religious art; contemporary corporations likewise appropriate cultural referent systems within marketing and image campaigns. By considering painting as an IT, we gain theoretical links between disparate yet interlinked cultural fields such as photography, art, marketing communications, and the Internet.     

Exploring Supply Managers' Intrapreneurial Ability and Relationship Quality

This article examined the degree to which a supply manager's intrapreneurial ability influences the quality of individual-level relationships with internal customers and the supplier's account executive. The moderating influence of the buyer's firm-level commitment to the supplier and how these relationships subsequently impact supplier performance were explored. The study assessed the supply manager's intrapreneurial ability using survey data gathered from 110 supply managers across a variety of industries. In key supplier relationships, a supply manager's intrapreneurial ability positively influences the quality of internal and external relationships. The firm's commitment to the supplier weakens the relationship between intrapreneurial ability and relationship quality. The findings highlight the value of individual skills to enhance relationships The ability to behave intrapreneurially shapes the quality of internal and supplier relationships. However, only the supply manager's relationship with the supplier's account executive is related to supplier performance. By examining the impact of intrapreneurial ability on individual-level relationships with internal customers and supplier's account executive, a more comprehensive view of business-to-business relationship management in the supply chain is gained.     

Australian not‐for‐profit sector views on the conceptual framework,accounting standards and accounting information

In this paper, we examine the conceptual framework, accounting standards and accounting information relevant to the not‐for‐profit (NFP) sector. Based on the responses of 242 Australian NFP managers, we find support for the inclusion of accountability in the conceptual framework, and for a common set of accounting standards across NFP and for‐profit sectors with additional standards or paragraphs to recognise NFP specific issues. Respondents also rated information within general‐purpose financial reports to be useful for decision making within their organisations. We offer suggestions as to what our findings mean for the development of accounting standards for the NFP sector.     

Destination competitiveness: evidence from Bali

Within the dynamic global tourism industry, understanding the reasons for a destination's competitiveness is essential in order to enhance its performance, facilitate more effective destination management, and inform its overall sustainable economic development. This paper applies Kim and Wicks’ (2010, July 30. Rethinking tourism cluster development models for global competitiveness, international chrie conference-refereed track, University of Massachusetts) tourism cluster development model to Bali – a small, mature destination in the developing economy of Indonesia. It demonstrates that there are complex relationships between: (i) cluster actors; (ii) barriers preventing effective networking; and (iii) the significance of these interactions for the local host community. This paper contributes to the debate by addressing new and different attributes and actors such as transnational corporations, universities, and the concept of co-opetition, as being significant attributes in Kim and Wicks’ initial model. Through a qualitative approach involving N?=?23 semi-structured interviews, this paper illustrates intricate issues and relationships that are identified in Bali, a small mature destination. Purposive sampling methods were employed to generate a range of key stakeholders who informed our understanding of ‘cluster actors’ in Kim and Wicks’ terms. The systematic examination of these key tourism elements provides a detailed analysis of the destination's strengths and weaknesses, and a more nuanced understanding of what facilitates a destination's competitive position.     

Assessing Export Competitiveness through the Lens of Value Added

Extensive changes in the organization of world trade over the last two decades have renewed concerns about countries’ ability to compete in export markets. The impact could be especially large in industries that participate in global value chains (GVCs). This study assesses the recent export performance of 56 countries in five industries associated with GVCs using an index of normalised revealed comparative advantage (RCA) that can be compared across industries and countries and new data on the domestic value added in exports from the OECD's Trade in Value‐added database. For a number of the GVC industries, countries identified as the most competitive based on gross exports are often found to be less competitive when evaluated in terms of domestic value added. Business services are an important exception; several countries appear more competitive on a value‐added basis than based on conventional measures of gross exports. Despite concerns about hollowing out, a number of major industrial countries remain highly competitive in one or more GVC industries, even from the perspective of domestic value added. A value‐added approach to RCA provides insights that are not apparent from an exclusive focus on gross exports.