Exit Decisions in the Canadian Grain Elevator Industry

Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade - Grain elevators play a central role in the movement of grain to market and to rural economies in terms of employment and investment. Over the last three...     

Deterring deviant consumer behaviour: when ‘it’s wrong,don’t do it’ doesn’t work

ABSTRACT

Tactics to deter deviant consumer behaviour have received limited attention in the literature despite deviance being an ongoing problem in the marketplace. Across two studies, the findings suggest there is a heterogeneous response to the rules placed on consumers’ behaviour, which manifests from an absence of consensus among consumers on what is right and wrong behaviour undermining the it’s wrong, don’t do it approach to deterrence. Further, risk perceptions of being caught and punished are low, if not absent, undermining the you will be caught and punished approach to deterrence. Alternate underlying mechanisms were tested and found to influence deviant consumer behaviour (perceived prevalence, perceived outcomes and moral identity), which could underpin alternate deterrence tactics, including social proofing, moral triggers and humanising the victim.     

Ethical Ideologies and Older Consumer Perceptions of Unethical Sales Tactics

Demographic differences among consumer groups have become increasingly important to the development of marketing strategies. Marketers depend heavily on the sales force to implement strategies at the consumer level and, not surprisingly, different groups may view the salesperson’s role differently. Unfortunately, unethical sales practices targeted at various consumer groups, and especially at seniors, have been utilized as well. The purpose of this study is to provide initial empirical evidence of the ethical ideological make-up of four age segments outlined by Strauss and Howe (1991, Generations: The History of America’s Future 1584–2069, Morrow, New York) and to examine the propensity for these groups (seniors, in particular) to respond differentially to potentially unethical sales tactics. Data were collected from 179 respondents representing the four generational age groups. MANOVA revealed that the seniors in this study were distinct with respect to ethical ideology and less accepting of unethical sales tactics. Managerial implications are discussed for sales organizations to maximize their effectiveness across consumer groups. Rosemary P. Ramsey (Ph.D., University of Cineinnati) is Professor of Marketing in the Raj Soin College of Business at Wright State University, Dayton, OH, USA. Rosemary spent several years as a marketing and sales practitioner in the private sector, primarily for NCR Corporation. She is interested in relationship development as it pertains to buyer-seller interactions, salespersons with their sales managers, and team dynamics. She has been on the faculty at University of Kentucky and University of South Florida. She was in administration at Eastern Kentucky University, Cleveland State University, and Wright State University. She is published in the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Retailing, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, among others. She was recently honored by Who’s Who among America’s Teachers and Who’s Who in Executives and Professionals. Greg W. Marshall (Ph.D., Oklahoma State University) is Professor of Marketing and Strategy in the Roy E. Crummer Graduate School of Business at Rollins College, Winter Park, FL, USA, Greg’s research centers on the areas of sales force selection, performance, and evaluation; adoption and successful use of technology by salespeople; sales force diversity; decision making by marketing managers; and intraorganizational relationships. He is Editor of the Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice. His industry experience includes thirteen years in selling and sales management, product management, and retailing with companies such as Warner Lambert, Mennen, and Target Corporation. He is a frequent consultant and trainer in the area of strategic marketing. Greg serves on the editorial review boards of the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Business Research, and Industrial Marketing Management.He is co-author of the books, Sales Force Management 9e and Relationship Selling and Sales Management 2e, both published by McCraw-Hill, and Marketing: Real People, Real Choices 5e, published by Prentice Hall. Mark W Johnston (Ph.D., Texas A&M University) is the Alan and Sandra Gerry Professor of Marketing and Ethics at the Roy E. Crummer Graduate School of Business at Rollins College, Winter Park, FL, USA. Mark has conducted a number of seminars around the world on a variety of topics including ethical issues in marketing, sales force motivation, managing turnover in the organization, sales training issues, and improving overall sales performance. He has served as a marketing consultant to a number of organizations around the country. A partial list of his research includes publications in theJournal of Marketing Research, Jotunal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Business Research, and Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management. He is co-author of the books Sales Force Marnagement 9e and Relationship Selling and Sales Management 2e, both published by McGraw-Hill. Dawn R, Deeter-Schmelz (Ph.D., University of South Florida) is Chair and O’Bleness Professor of Marketing at Ohio University, Athens, OH, USA. Her research interests include customer service teams, sales management and buyer-seller relationship issues, business-to-business e-commerce, and scale development. She has published in Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, Industrial Marketing Management, Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, Journal of Marketing Education, and Journal of Business Logistics, among others. In a marketplace where the consumer is King ... understanding the fundamental needs, values, icons and historical experiences of the various generations is more critical than ever. Generational mindsets and feelings are major factors in determining ...an effective marketing strategy. —Fishman (2004), p. 4     

Managing Stock Option Expense: The Manipulation of Option‐Pricing Model Assumptions*

This paper examines whether firms that voluntarily recognize stock option expense in their financial statements manage that expense downward more than firms that do not recognize the expense by adjusting option‐pricing model assumptions. To examine this issue, I collect option‐pricing model assumptions from fiscal year 2002 for both a sample of firms that voluntarily recognize stock option expense (“recognizing firms”) and a sample of control firms that do not (“disclosing firms”). The empirical results suggest that recognizing firms manage the recognized stock‐based compensation expense reported in their financial statements downward more than do firms that only disclose the expense. Additional analyses reveal that recognizing firms assume a lower level of volatility than disclosing firms in the option‐pricing model calculations; however, I find no evidence that recognizing firms manage the dividend yield and risk‐free interest rate assumptions more than disclosing firms. The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) recently issued Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 123(R), which requires the expensing of the fair value of stock options, so these results may be of interest to capital‐market participants and the FASB as they assess the reliability of stock option expense as determined by option‐pricing models.     

Bayesian Model Averaging: A Systematic Review and Conceptual Classification

Bayesian model averaging (BMA) provides a coherent and systematic mechanism for accounting for model uncertainty. It can be regarded as an direct application of Bayesian inference to the problem of model selection, combined estimation and prediction. BMA produces a straightforward model choice criterion and less risky predictions. However, the application of BMA is not always straightforward, leading to diverse assumptions and situational choices on its different aspects. Despite the widespread application of BMA in the literature, there were not many accounts of these differences and trends besides a few landmark revisions in the late 1990s and early 2000s, therefore not accounting for advancements made in the last decades. In this work, we present an account of these developments through a careful content analysis of 820 articles in BMA published between 1996 and 2016. We also develop a conceptual classification scheme to better describe this vast literature, understand its trends and future directions and provide guidance for the researcher interested in both the application and development of the methodology. The results of the classification scheme and content review are then used to discuss the present and future of the BMA literature.     

Choice experiments,site similarity and benefits transfer

Choice experiments are designed to account for variations in environmental resources and site characteristics, as well as potential implications of these variations for willingness to pay. As a result, choice experiment results may be well suited for benefits transfer. It is unclear, however, whether the flexibility of choice experiments renders the similarity of study and transfer sites less critical for transfer validity. Drawing from identical choice experiments conducted in different Rhode Island communities, this model assesses the extent to which error in function-based benefits transfer is related to the similarity of communities across a variety of observable dimensions. Results suggest that site similarity, at least across some dimensions, influences the validity of choice experiment benefits transfers. However, the use of some measures of similarity as indicators of transfer error may provide misleading results.     

The Causes and Consequences of the Misdiagnosis of the Financial Crisis in the United States

Using an analytical framework that divides banking crises into ‘classic’ and ‘secondary’ crises, this article analyzes the banking crisis that broke out in the United States in the summer of 2007 and the response of US authorities. While quite simple in itself, this framework allows for a novel interpretation of the unfolding of the crisis and for evaluating US authorities in the design and implementation of crisis resolution mechanisms. As suggested by the title, the principal hypothesis of the article is that the crisis was fundamentally misdiagnosed, leading to a flawed bailout that all but guarantees its inefficacy in bringing the US financial system back to health at a reasonable fiscal cost.