50-YEAR RETROSPECTIVE OF THE IARIW: THE EARLY YEARS

This paper, for the anniversary session on Milestones in Measurement, covers the years of the International Association for Research in Income and Wealth (IARIW) through the sixth General Conference in 1959. The first section of the paper describes the setting in which the Association was established and attempts to give a sense of the early years by identifying the people who were active in the Association and the topics that were being discussed. The second section identifies four milestones among the papers published in Income and Wealth , the volumes that brought together a selection of the papers from the General Conferences of this early period.     

Text Services and Universal Service Obligations

NETNOMICS: Economic Research and Electronic Networking -     

Knowledge: a variable in evaluating clothing quality

This study was designed to determine the effect knowledge has on the types of information cues used to evaluate clothing quality. Students ranked the importance of 24 product attributes for evaluating clothing quality before beginning a 15‐week university course on evaluation of clothing products and again at the conclusion of the course. Most (64%) of the intrinsic cues were ranked significantly higher on the pretest than post‐test and many of the extrinsic (75%) and aesthetic (67%) cues rated significantly lower. There were no differences in the ranking of the performance cues. However, caution should be taken when interpreting the results of the study. Although all of the cues ranked significantly higher in the post‐test were intrinsic cues, when evaluating the relative ranking of the cues in the pretest and post‐test, there were few differences. The same five aesthetic cues were in the top third on both tests and the same six intrinsic cues were in the bottom third on both tests. The findings of this study suggest that knowledge does influence how consumers evaluate quality and additional research that focuses on the effect of knowledge in consumers’ evaluation of clothing quality is needed.     

The service imperative

Services dominate the world's established economies (such as those of the US, Germany, and Finland) and are becoming increasingly important in developing economies, including those of China and India. Yet most companies, national governments, and universities do not put much energy into service research, innovation, or education. This ironic juxtaposition of facts has led us, along with others, to promote a focus on service research and service innovation across companies and institutions. We call this the “service imperative.” In this article, we present our view of the service imperative as a burning platform that is giving birth to many hopeful directions for the future of the global economy. We believe that companies and nations that embrace the service imperative will prosper and benefit, as will individuals who do the same. We also contend that widespread embracing of the service imperative can lead to improved quality of life for people worldwide.     

The price of peace in the household: A commentary on “The Price of Unconditional Love: Consumer Decisions Concerning High-Dollar Veterinary Care”

Brockman et al. [Brockman, Beverly K, Taylor, Valerie A, Brockman, Christopher M. The price of unconditional love: consumer decisions concerning high-dollar veterinary care. J Bus Res Forthcom 2007] use an interpretive approach to investigate a consumer decision made under emotional circumstances. Unlike mundane purchases of food and household appliances, emotional consumer decisions that affect the entire family are ripe for conflict. This commentary highlights gaps in our understanding of household decision making that the work of Brockman et al. suggests and proposes ways in which new insights are achievable in established streams of research.     

The Ethical Issues Confronting Managers in the Sport Industry

The sport industry is an extremely diverse industry, including segments such as professional sport, intercollegiate athletics, health and fitness, recreational sport and facility management. The industry is currently experiencing rapid growth and development, and as it grows, sport managers in the different segments encounter ethical issues which are often unique to each segment. This article examines the professional sport, intercollegiate athletics, health and fitness, recreational sport and facility management segments of the sport industry and discusses the various ethical issues facing managers in each of these segments.