The effects of extrinsic product cues on consumers’ perceptions of quality, sacrifice, and value

The authors report the results of two experiments designed to test the effects of extrinsic cues—price, brand name, store name, and country of origin—on consumers’ perceptions of quality, sacrifice, and value. The results of the experiments support hypothesized linkages between (a) each of the four experimentally manipulated extrinsic cues and perceived quality, (b) price and perceived sacrifice, (c) perceived quality and perceived value, and (d) perceived sacrifice and perceived value. The results also indicate that the linkages between the extrinsic cues and perceived value are mediated by perceived quality and sacrifice. R. Kenneth Teas is a distinguished professor of business in the Department of Marketing, College of Business, Iowa State University. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Oklahoma. His areas of research include consumer behavior and decision processes, marketing research methods, services marketing, and sales force management. His articles have been published in numerous journals, including theJournal of Marketing, theJournal of Marketing Research, theJournal of Consumer Research, theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, theAmerican Journal of Agricultural Economics, theJournal of Retailing, theJournal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, theJournal of Occupational Psychology, andIndustrial Marketing Management. Sanjeev Agarwal is an associate professor in the Department of Marketing, College of Business, Iowa State University. He received his Ph.D. from The Ohio State University. His areas of research include multinational marketing strategies, modes of foreign market entry, and sales force management. His articles have been published in theJournal of Consumer Research, theJournal of International Marketing, International Marketing Review, Industrial Marketing Management, theJournal of International Business Studies, theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, and theJournal of Personal Selling and Sales Management.     

Effect of consumer self‐confidence on information search and dissemination: Mediating role of subjective knowledge

Consumers search for information about products to make a satisfactory purchase decision and gain knowledge about new features and updates. Consumers also use this knowledge to be vocal about their product experience because several consumers seek interpersonal recommendations. This phenomenon has contributed to the emergence of information search (IS) and information dissemination (ID) as a key research area in the field of consumer behaviour. However, the role of personal factors such as consumer self‐confidence and subjective knowledge has received little attention in the extant IS and ID literature. The major argument of this study is that information acquisition confidence and social outcome confidence enhance subjective knowledge and consequently increase the will of consumers to search and disseminate information in the context of smartphone buyers in India. Structural equation modelling was employed to test the proposed hypotheses using a convenience sample of 259 consumers obtained through a cross‐sectional survey. The study shows that subjective knowledge is crucial in strengthening the association between consumer self‐confidence and consumer intention for IS and ID. Additionally, enhancing consumer’s social outcome confidence contributes towards high subjective knowledge and consequently accelerates information dissemination. Results suggest that firms could focus on enhancing the social outcome confidence and subjective knowledge of consumers to motivate them to disseminate information. The results also show that consumers with high confidence in information acquisition ability have the high subjective knowledge and are more likely to search for information. Overall, this study contributes to the emerging literature regarding the role of personal factors in IS and dissemination behaviour.     

High‐performance work systems and creativity implementation: the role of psychological capital and psychological safety

Unimplemented creative ideas are potentially wasted opportunities for organisations. Although it is largely understood how to encourage creativity among employees, how to ensure this creativity is implemented remains underexplored. The objective of the current study is to identify the underlying mechanisms that explain the relationship between high‐performance work systems and creativity implementation. Drawing from the job demands–resources model, we explore a model of psychological capital and psychological safety as mediators in the relationship between high‐performance work systems and creativity implementation. Based on 505 employee survey responses, the findings show support for the mediating relationships, highlighting the importance of psychological mechanisms. The study has important implications for HRM, uncovering how people management practices can encourage creativity implementation in the workplace.     

Twenty‐five years of the Taffler z‐score model: Does it really have predictive ability?

Although copious statistical failure prediction models are described in the literature, appropriate tests of whether such methodologies really work in practice are lacking. Validation exercises typically use small samples of non‐failed firms and are not true tests of ex ante predictive ability, the key issue of relevance to model users. This paper provides the operating characteristics of the well‐known Taffler (1983) UK‐based z‐score model for the first time and evaluates its performance over the 25‐year period since it was originally developed. The model is shown to have clear predictive ability over this extended time period and dominates more naïve prediction approaches. This study also illustrates the economic value to a bank of using such methodologies for default risk assessment purposes. Prima facie, such results also demonstrate the predictive ability of the published accounting numbers and associated financial ratios used in the z‐score model calculation.     

Risk and return in convertible arbitrage: Evidence from the convertible bond market

In this paper, we identify and document the empirical characteristics of the key drivers of convertible arbitrage as a strategy and how they impact the performance of convertible arbitrage hedge funds. We show that the returns of a buy-and-hedge strategy involving taking a long position in convertible bonds (“CBs”) while hedging the equity risk alone explains a substantial amount of these funds' return dynamics. In addition, we highlight the importance of non-price variables such as extreme market-wide events and the supply of CBs on performance. Out-of-sample tests provide corroborative evidence on our model's predictions. At a more micro level, larger funds appear to be less dependent on directional exposure to CBs and more active in shorting stocks to hedge their exposure than smaller funds. They are also more vulnerable to supply shocks in the CB market. These findings are consistent with economies of scale that large funds enjoy in accessing the stock loan market. However, the friction involved in adjusting the stock of risk capital managed by a large fund can negatively impact performance when the supply of CBs declines. Taken together, our findings are consistent with convertible arbitrageurs collectively being rewarded for playing an intermediation role of funding CB issuers whilst distributing part of the equity risk of CBs to the equity market.     

Scaling behaviour of Treasury rates in India

This study finds that the scaling properties of India’s nominal and real Treasury rates are time varying, as is their multiscaling behaviour. We observe an association between the scaling behaviour of interest rates and the stages of development of the bill market. Interest rate behaviour is influenced by structural reforms, microstructure changes, and improvement in the operational efficiency of the Treasury market. Our findings suggest that monetary policy shocks have a persistent effect, but rates eventually revert to the mean. We show that the adaptive market hypothesis helps to delineate the dynamics of an emerging market undergoing a series of institutional and structural changes.     

Gender and Land Rights Revisited: Exploring New Prospects via the State, Family and Market

The question of women's land rights has a relatively young history in India. This paper briefly traces that history before examining why gendering the land question remains critical, and what the new possibilities are for enhancing women's land access. Potentially, women can obtain land through the State, the family and the market. The paper explores the prospects and constraints linked to each, arguing that access through the family and the market deserve particular attention, since most arable land in India is privatized. On market access, the paper makes several departures from existing discussions by focusing on the advantages, especially for poor women, of working in groups to lease in or purchase land; using government credit for land rather than merely for micro–enterprises; and collectively managing purchased or leased in land, the collectivity being constituted with other women, rather than with family members. Such group functioning is shown to have several advantages over individual or family–based farming. This approach could also help revive land reform, community cooperation and joint farming in a radically new form, one centred on poor women.