Embedding employee involvement and participation at work

Most quantitative studies analysing the nature and impact of employee involvement and participation (EIP) have used data that differentiate between its absence and presence. However, the application of EIP practices varies substantially, and impact may depend on how embedded EIP is at workplace level. Developing the concept of ‘embeddedness’ as a combination of measures of the breadth and depth of EIP practices, we use WERS98 to examine the impact of EIP on employee perceptions. Our results show support for propositions that greater breadth and depth of EIP practices are associated with higher levels of organisational commitment and job satisfaction.     

Endometriosis,an unknown entity: the consumer's perspective

This paper reports the findings of a consumer‐driven investigation conducted by the Centre for Clinical Nursing Research at Epworth Hospital in conjunction with the Endometriosis Association (Victoria, Australia) aimed at identifying the information and support needs of women experiencing endometriosis. Women's experiences of endometriosis and laparoscopy were examined. A questionnaire was designed to explore women's experiences of, and informational need for, the four categories of: diagnosis of endometriosis, endometriosis, laparoscopy and managing at home. A total of 465 women who had a positive diagnosis of endometriosis, including patients at the Epworth Endometriosis Centre and members of the Endometriosis Association, were included. The data were analysed in terms of frequency of responses and themes that arose from the research. Five main themes consistently emerged from the overall analysis of the questionnaire; these included: lack of communication, no‐one listens, the emotional turmoil, expressions of gratitude to the Endometriosis Association and being young and helpless. Also identified was a lack of understanding of endometriosis and laparoscopy, on behalf of both the patient and the practitioner, which has led to communication of misinformation, extended physical pain and emotional distress. Based on these findings, recommendations were made for education strategies to be focused towards increasing awareness of endometriosis and for information to be disseminated using the preferred printed format and to be made available from gynaecologists, hospitals and schools. Through consumer participation, the information obtained in this study is of benefit to all women who come in contact with endometriosis by (a) validating women's experiences of endometriosis and (b) identifying women's needs in relation to the disease.     

The marketing concept in perspective

A re-evaluation of the marketing concept appears to be in the making. The focus of research designed to facilitate this re-evaluation is likely to be of considerable importance to the future development of marketing theory. Research designed to better define the role and scope of the marketing concept seems to offer the most promise. Such research would be an aid to determining where the marketing concept should fit into a comprehensive theory of marketing. Limitations of the marketing concept are well documented in the literature suggesting a need for a broader framework of marketing theory. It seems imperative that academicians accept the responsibility for developing a more comprehensive general theory of marketing, one relevant to both the micro and macro aspects of a functioning system. Such flexibility seems to be a minimal requirement.     

Unanticipated money,output, and prices in the small economy

A macroeconomic model for an open economy experiencing both domestic and international monetary disturbances is given. Expectations are assumed to be rational. Particular attention is focused on the reduced form coefficients for unanticipated domestic and foreign monetary disturbances under alternative exchange rate regimes.     

The functions of clothes and clothing (dis)satisfaction: A gender analysis among British students

This study examines the social psychological functions clothes fulfil for young women and men, and the role that these perceived functions play for their (dis)satisfaction with their clothing generally. Sixty female and sixty male British students indicated why an item of clothing they particularly valued was important to them, including perceived functional and mood-related benefits, but also clothes as means for expressing personal and social identity. They also completed a measure of general (dis)satisfaction with one's clothing (Francis, 1990), and described their current financial circumstances.Results of diverse multivariate statistical tests support all three sets of hypotheses: (1) By comparison, men take a more self-oriented approach to clothes, stressing their use as expressive symbols of personality and their functional benefits, whilst women also have other-oriented concerns, choosing to use clothes as symbols of their social and personal interrelatedness with others; (2) although the perceived need for new clothing depends partly on financial constraints, women are more concerned with clothing in the context of peer relations, independently of financial constraints; and (3) the patterns of links between social psychological functions of valued items of clothing and general clothing (dis)satisfaction are gender-specific.Implications of gender differences throughout the clothes consumption cycle — buying motivations, purchase, and use — are discussed with respect to differential aspects of clothing advertising likely to influence women's and men's purchases on the one hand, and with respect to consumer policy tasks in assisting consumers on the other, particularly in the context of addictive buying of women.

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Zusammenfassung Die Funktionen von Kleidung und die (Un)Zufriedenheit mit Kleidung: Geschlechts-spezifische Analyse bei englischen Studenten Die Studie untersucht zum einen die sozialpsychologischen Funktionen von Kleidungsstücken für junge Frauen und MÄnner und zum anderen die Rolle, die diese Funktionen für die (Un)Zufriedenheit mit ihrer Kleidung generell für die Betroffenen haben. Jeweils 60 weibliche und mÄnnliche englische Studenten gaben an, weshalb ein bestimmtes Kleidungsstück für sie besonders wichtig war; dabei spielten funktionale und stimmungsmÄ\ige Aspekte eine Rolle, aber auch der Aspekt, da\ Kleidungstücke persönliche und soziale IdentitÄt ausdrücken. Au\erdem wurde von ihnen ein Ma\ der generellen (Un)Zufriedenheit mit der eigenen Kleidung erhoben. Schlie\lich beschrieben sie ihre derzeitige finanzielle Situation. Die Ergebnisse der verschiedenen multivariaten Analysen bestÄtigen alle drei Gruppen von Hypothesen: (1) Im Vergleich haben MÄnner eine stÄrker selbstorientierte Beziehung zu Kleidungsstücken, die ihren Gebrauch als Ausdruck der eigenen Persönlichkeit und ihre tatsÄchliche Funktion betont, wogegen Frauen auch au\en-orientierte Aspekte verfolgen, indem sie Kleidungsstücke als Symbole ihrer sozialen und persönlichen Beziehung mit anderen auswÄhlen; (2) Auch wenn das Bedürfnis nach neuer Kleidung teilweise von den finanziellen Möglichkeiten abhÄngt, denken Frauen an Kleidung stÄrker im Zusammenhang mit Partner-beziehungen, und zwar unabhÄngig von der finanziellen Situation; (3) Die Beziehungen zwischen den sozialpsychologischen Funktionen besonders geschÄtzter Kleidungsstücke einerseits und der generellen (Un)Zufriedenheit mit der Kleidung andererseits sind geschlechtsspezifisch. Implikationen von Geschlechtsunterschieden wÄhrend des gesamten Konsumzyklus bei Kleidung — Kaufmotive, Kauf und Gebrauch — werden auch in Beziehung mit Einflüssen der Kleidungswerbung und mit verbraucherpolitischen Fragestellungen diskutiert.

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Jason Cox teaches psychology and sociology in London.     

Beyond first impressions: The effects of repeated exposure on consumer liking of visually complex and simple product designs

This article presents an experiment examining the effects of stimulus complexity on consumers' aesthetic preferences. The results suggest that preferences for visually complex product designs tend to increase with repeated exposure, while preferences for visually simple product designs tend to decrease with repeated exposure. In addition, the results suggest thatperceived complexity partially mediates the exposure-preference relationship. The authors discuss implications of these findings for market researchers conducting aesthetic product design concept tests, as well as more basic research on the affective impact of repeated exposure. Dena Cox is an associate professor of marketing at the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University, Indianapolis, Indiana. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Houston. She publishes research primarily on aspects of consumer behavior and promotion effects and marketing research. She has published her research in theJournal of Marketing, theJournal of Consumer Research, and theJournal of Retailing. Anthony D. Cox is an associate professor of marketing at the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University, Indianapolis, Indiana. He received his Ph.D. from Indiana University. His research focus is on forecasting demand and consumer behavior and advertising effects. He has published in theJournal of Marketing, theJournal of Marketing Research, and theJournal of Consumer Research.     

Unanticipated money,output, and prices in the small economy

Recent studies of the relationship between unanticipated monetary disturbances and the level of output and prices have focussed on the implications of monetary policy for the large, essentially closed, economy. This paper investigates the determination of output, the price level, and the money stock of a small open economy. In particular, primary interest is in delineating the channels of home and foreign monetary influence, and in discriminating between the effects of home-generated and foreign-generated unanticipated monetary disturbances under the alternative regimes of a fixed, managed, and flexible exchange rate.