Identifying differences in willingness to pay due to dimensionality in stated choice experiments: a cross country analysis

This paper explores the influence of both cultural and socio-economic characteristics on the perception of complexity and cognitive load associated with stated choice (SC) experiments. Complexity is analysed in terms of five design dimensions which were systematically varied according to a macro experimental design. To study the influence of cross country differences on willingness to pay estimates, we combined datasets collected in Sydney, Santiago de Chile and Taichung city in Taiwan, all of them related to an equivalent route choice experiment. Several mixed logit models were specified and estimated; our results show that design dimensions do have an impact on the behavioural outputs of discrete choice models estimated on SC data. However, these influences seem to be data-specific, suggesting that the impact of design dimensions upon SC outcomes may be local and not necessarily transferable across different countries and cultures.     

How e-WOM recommendations influence product consideration and quality of choice: A motivation to process information perspective

A laboratory experiment examines the effects of electronic word-of-mouth (e-WOM) on consumer consideration and choice of an experience product. Specifically, we manipulated the number of consumer recommendations and the optimality of the recommended product in a realistic online shopping environment. The results indicate that e-WOM is likely to result in more time considering the recommended product. For consumers more motivated to process information, e-WOM recommendations lead to more time spent on the choice task overall. Further, consumers with less motivation to process information make suboptimal decisions based on e-WOM recommendations. Consumers with a high motivation to process information are willing to accept recommendations and switch from declared attribute preferences, but choose only optimal products.     

Studies to Evaluate COBIT's Contribution to Organisations: Opportunities from the Literature, 2003–06

Information Technology control frameworks such as the Control Objectives for Information and Related Technology (COBIT) are designed to promote effective IT governance. This paper guides future scholarly evaluations of COBIT by identifying gaps in, and facilitating, research. It uses a framework to update a classification of the COBIT literature, by examining publications that report on how COBIT has been used in organisations. The findings from content analysis of extensive printed resources carried out on three occasions between 2003 and 2006 suggest that very few academically‐focused evaluations of COBIT implementations have been undertaken, despite COBIT's extensive use in organisations throughout the world. Analysis points to growing acceptance of COBIT by both academics and practitioners, as well as a maturation in practitioner discussion of the framework. However, considerable potential exists for academic research that evaluates COBIT's effectiveness, to determine COBIT's value for organisations.     

A Multi Dimensional Analysis of Warning Signal Words

Warning signal words (e.g. DANGER, WARNING and CAUTION) are often used on warning signs and labels to denote the level of hazard implied by the situation they indicate. This process of hazard matching assumes that warning signal words communicate primarily hazard and yet we know little about the alternative associations they may communicate. Here we take a broader perspective on warning signal words and consider whether they do lie on a single dimension of hazard or whether they are in fact multidimensional. Multidimensional analysis of similarity ratings of 17 signal words ratings revealed three dimensions ‐ the level of hazard implied by the signal words, the extent to which they explicitly implied a risk and the explicitness of the instruction given. A follow up study supported the interpretation of dimensions 1 and 2. The results support the practice of using signal words to achieve hazard matching, and further suggest that there might be utility in mapping signal words to the conditions that they indicate in terms of the extent to which the situation or product constitutes an explicit risk.     

A Hierarchy-of-Effects Approach to Designing a Social Marketing Game

While there is great enthusiasm and interest by social marketers for games as a social marketing intervention, there is little evidence of the impact of these games. This research seeks to fill this gap by testing a theoretical model based on the experiential hierarchy of effects. An online game about the physiological effects of drinking was designed for high-school students and implemented in an educational curriculum with 223 participants (96% response rate) completing an online survey. The data was analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) and showed support for nine of the eleven hypotheses. The results show game characteristics of enjoyment (feel), knowledge (learn), and challenge (do) significantly related to attitudes and moderate-drinking behavioral intentions, ability to control drinking, and awareness of the physical consequences of drinking. There were no gender differences.     

Self-catering accommodation in Switzerland

This article examines the situation of self-catering accommodation in the light of tourist experience in Switzerland. Swiss tourism is currently declining, and so are traditional forms of accommodation such as hotels. At the same time there is evidence that the demand for self-catering holiday properties is increasing. Yet very little is known about this sector in Switzerland. The present paper attempts to identify the number of Swiss self-catering properties and presents the results of interviews and an on-line survey, which shed light on this industry and allows the situation in Switzerland to be compared with that in other countries. The number of holiday homes in Switzerland has increased steadily since the 1980s, and could provide a valuable source of rented property and local income. The Swiss self-catering industry is highly seasonal, although rental properties are mostly available all year round. Swiss accommodation is relatively small and expensive, partly because the rent usually includes laundry and other services, not offered in other countries. Owners often rent to offset the cost of upkeep, rather than to make a profit, and this attitude is reflected in the fragmented and rather unprofessional nature of marketing, representation and communications in the sector. A number of recommendations are made for developing the industry, based on the findings.     

Suspicion: Its sources, means of control, and effect on interorganizational relationships

Suspicion in the interorganizational relationship literature has been associated with relationship decay but this literature fails to capture the value of suspicion in maintaining relationships. The authors offer an inventory of propositions, suggesting that the level of suspicion determines whether it has beneficial or harmful effects on channel relationships. Support for many of these propositions is based on a unique attribute of suspicion: Suspicion serves as an antidote to the fundamental attribution error, or the tendency to take behavior at face value without allowing for situational influences. Such an attribute suggests suspicion should have an important influence on interorganizational relationships. Specifically, the authors propose that suspicion can be beneficial at moderate levels, but harmful at very low or high levels. Of particular interest to practitioners, we propose some methods for controlling suspicion.     

Market Based Management™*—A Key to Nucor's Success

Ken Iverson, CEO of Nucor Corporation, transformed Nucor from the virtually worthless corporate shell that it was when he took over as president in 1966 into a Fortune 500 giant with current shareholder value in excess of $5 billion. How did Iverson do it? What are the secrets to his outstanding success? This article argues that an important part of the answer is Market Based Management, a relatively new set of management values and practices that aims to bring the power of a free-market society inside companies. Stated in brief, Market Based Management attempts to replace the traditional “command-and-control” management approach with decentralized decision-making that is designed to make full use of employees' “specific knowledge.” Employees' expanded decision-making authority is reinforced by a powerful incentive compensation system that rewards them handsomely for achieving corporate goals. The result, according to the authors, is highly motivated employees who “take ownership” for their role in contributing to the success of the enterprise.