The projected destination brand personalities of European capital cities and their positioning

ABSTRACT

Capital cities are significant drivers of visitation to their countries and therefore it is important to understand how the destination brand personalities (DBP) of capital cities are projected and positioned. Hence, the aim of this research is to develop a projected DBP scale for European capital cities, and to investigate their relative positioning. Content analysis of the cities’ main tourism websites was used to develop a projected brand personality scale. This was followed by correspondence analysis to investigate the relative positioning of the city brand personalities. The DBP scale included six dimensions: excitement, malignancy, peacefulness, competence, ruggedness and conservatism. Excitement is the most strongly communicated dimension across all cities, followed by peacefulness and competence. No city rated highly on ruggedness. The correspondence analysis clusters cities into three projected DBP groups: (1) Warsaw and Moscow, (2) Athens, Rome, Madrid, and Berlin, (3) Amsterdam, Paris and Vienna.     

Comparison of the washing efficiencies of a laboratory washing device (Launder‐Ometer) and of automatic household washing machines with horizontal drums

The objective of this study was to compare the cleaning result of a laboratory washing machine – Launder‐Ometer (LOM) – with that of drum‐type household washing machines, using detergent without bleaching agent, standard soiled fabrics and a colorimeter for assessing the washing result. The mechanical effect applied to the laundry in the household washers was not obtained in the LOM by increasing mechanical impact or the number of metal balls. Extended washing time did not improve removal of blood soil in the LOM, although it did increase removal of mayonnaise soil containing chlorophyll. However, in practice a washing time of 60–85 min is relatively long for a laboratory device considering the claimed time‐saving nature of these devices. None of the examined parameters affected removal of a red wine soil containing tannins, which was poor in all test combinations both in the household machines and in the laboratory washing machine. Bleaching agent is recommended for removal of this type of soil. In conclusion, conformity between washing results of the laboratory washing machine and the drum‐type household washing machines depends on the type of soiled test fabrics and other parameters in the washing process. Removal of blood soil differed most between the household machines and the LOM.     

Public-private partnership project success circumstances

The public-private partnership has been in use in the world for over 40 years, and has been growing at a varying rate and with mixed success in different countries. Based on the experience gained in selected countries, this article shows key success factors of the public-private partnership.     

Is transparency a good thing? How online price transparency and variability can benefit firms and influence consumer decision making

The internet has empowered consumers and changed the way they search and shop for products and services by increasing the availability and transparency of pricing and other comparative information. However, what is less clear from a managerial perspective is just how transparent pricing information should be. While it might seem that increasing price transparency would reduce consumer search, we find that it may actually increase search and delay. In this article, we review the use of firms’ application of price transparency in practice and propose that specific types of information can influence how transparent prices are to consumers, and how such transparency can influence consumer decisions in a way that is beneficial for the firm. We focus on a specific form of transparency: whether or not the consumer knows the range of pricing. We also discuss whether a high variability pricing approach versus a low variability pricing approach influences consumer decision making—and whether this influence is moderated by transparency.     

Does timing matter? A real options experiment to farmers' investment and disinvestment behaviours

In this article, we analyse the (dis)investment behaviour of farmers in a within‐subject designed experiment. We ascertain whether, and to what extent, the real options approach (ROA) and the classical investment theory can predict farmers' (dis)investment behaviour. We consider a problem of optimal stopping, stylising an option to (dis)invest in agricultural technology. Our results show that both theories do not explain exactly the observed (dis)investment behaviour. However, some evidence was found that the ROA predicted the decision behaviour of farmers better than the classical investment theory. Moreover, we found that farmers learn from repeated investment decisions and consider the value of waiting over time. Socio‐demographic and farm‐specific variables also affect the (dis)investment behaviour of farmers.