The growing popularity of spiritual brands: What drives purchase intent?

In this study, we investigate the reason for the growing popularity of FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) household products branded, promoted and sold in India by local spiritual leaders. We find that religiosity and normative community pressure are important purchase drivers for such products. Surprisingly, pragmatism in the presence of normative pressure also contributes to demand. We argue that self-identity theory provides a contextualized explanation in association with social identity theory to explain the influence of normative pressure on increased demand. The results of the study suggest that integrating social and self-identity theories provides a fuller insight into consumer behaviour in a complex social context.     

A Conceptual Framework That Identifies Antecedents and Consequences of Building Socially Responsible International Brands

Research on the reputation of international firms using branding philosophies for offering products that are harmful for customers, through business‐to‐business networks, has until now yielded inconsistent results. Although the literature recommends socially responsible behavior of firms offering branded products as one of the determinants of brand reputation, it fails to satisfactorily identify the factors that would particularly enable a brand offering controversial products to be recognized as a socially responsible brand. Authors use the inductive approach to examine existing research and review anecdotes to build a model that will allow brand managers to develop recognition of an ethical and socially responsible brand while offering controversial products such as tobacco or gambling. In addition, the role of business customers of an international brand is also reviewed to understand if they can moderate the causal relationship between the socially responsible image of the brand and brand reputation. Guidelines for future research on the propositions made are provided in this article. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

How e-WOM recommendations influence product consideration and quality of choice: A motivation to process information perspective

A laboratory experiment examines the effects of electronic word-of-mouth (e-WOM) on consumer consideration and choice of an experience product. Specifically, we manipulated the number of consumer recommendations and the optimality of the recommended product in a realistic online shopping environment. The results indicate that e-WOM is likely to result in more time considering the recommended product. For consumers more motivated to process information, e-WOM recommendations lead to more time spent on the choice task overall. Further, consumers with less motivation to process information make suboptimal decisions based on e-WOM recommendations. Consumers with a high motivation to process information are willing to accept recommendations and switch from declared attribute preferences, but choose only optimal products.     

US Fiscal Policy and Asset Prices: The Role of Partisan Conflict

Fiscal policy shocks exert wide‐reaching effects, including movements in asset markets. US politics have been characterized historically by a high degree of partisan conflict. The combination of increasing polarization and divided government leads not only to significant Congressional gridlock, but also to spells of high fiscal policy uncertainty. This paper adds to the literature on the relationships between fiscal policy and asset prices in the US economy conditional on the degree of partisan conflict. We analyze whether a higher degree of partisan conflict (legislative gridlock) reduces the efficacy of the effect and response of fiscal policy on and to asset price movements, respectively. We find that partisan conflict does not significantly affect the relationships between the fiscal surplus to gross domestic product (GDP) and housing and equity returns. Rather, if important, partisan conflict affects the actual implementation of fiscal policy actions.     

Cross‐Country Variability in Cost of Raising Equity: Evidence from Seasoned Equity Offerings

We examine how county‐level governance affects the cost of raising equity. Using data on seasoned equity offerings, we find that the underwriting spread is determined by the litigation risk of issue certifiers, and offer underpricing is largely determined by the investment risk of the equity issue. Underwriting spread increases with enhanced legal enforcement, offsetting the reduction in underpricing associated with strong legal enforcement. Our study offers insight into the effect of legal enforcement and regulatory policy on the cost of raising equity.     

Creating Satisfied Employees Through Workplace Spirituality: A Study of the Private Insurance Sector in Punjab (India)

Spirituality in the workplace is gaining recognition and value among researchers, academicians, and business professionals. The aim of this paper is to examine the impact of spirituality in the workplace on job satisfaction by measuring four dimensions of spirituality in the workplace: meaningful work, sense of community, organizational values, and compassion. The impact of each dimension on job satisfaction is hypothesized. A cross-sectional survey was used to collect data from 100 payroll employees in private insurance companies in Punjab (India). A correlation analysis showed a positive relationship between all the dimensions of spirituality in the workplace and job satisfaction. A regression analysis revealed that although all the dimensions of spirituality in the workplace are important, organizational values and a sense of community are the most important in terms of the job satisfaction level of employees. This work will help insurance companies to better understand the concept of spirituality in the workplace and its importance. Insurance companies can improve their functioning by encouraging employee spirituality in the workplace.     

Changing Patterns in Industrial R&D Management

A successful R&D manager is, in many ways, an agent of change. R&D managers must respond effectively to changes in domestic and global competition, product and process technologies, customer requirements, regulatory matters, and senior management's perception of the role R&D plays in a firm. The responses to these changes flow downstream from R&D to other parts of the organization, in the form of new materials, methods, processes, and products. To help us understand the changes facing R&D management, Ashok K. Gupta and David Wilemon present the results of a study that examines the ideas and experiences of 120 R&D directors from technology-based companies. The study explores the major changes that R&D management has undergone in recent years, the changes R&D managers expect to encounter during the next few years, and the causes of those changes. The respondents also identify the skills and knowledge they view as necessary for effective R&D management, and they assess their organizations' capabilities in those areas. According to the respondents, major changes that R&D has encountered include increased emphasis on such issues as cross-functional teamwork, R&D's contribution to both short- and long-term business results, R&D's capability to quickly bring to market new products that customers value, efficient use of R&D resources, and R&D alliances. Other changes noted by respondents include greater pressure to find new markets, increased attention on the effective management of technical personnel, and increased regulations and sensitivity to environmental issues. The knowledge domains that the respondents highlighted as having the greatest effect on R&D performance include such capabilities as understanding customer needs, monitoring market developments, commercializing new technologies, building cross-functional teams, managing multiple R&D projects, and accelerating new product development. According to the respondents, the largest gaps between required and current capabilities exist in several of the areas listed as being most important to effective R&D management, including monitoring market developments that can affect R&D activities and overall business performance, maintaining a spirit of inquiry while ensuring that R&D contributes to overall corporate performance, developing technology commercialization capabilities, fostering mutually profitable strategic alliances, and accelerating the development and commercialization of new products.     

ABSENTEEISM AND TURNOVER: IS THERE A PROGRESSION? [1]

Three patterns of relationships between employee absenteeism and turnover have been suggested in the past—that withdrawal progresses from absenteeism to turnover, that absenteeism and turnover are alternatives to each other, and that absenteeism and turnover are unrelated. This paper examines the proposition that there is a rising trend of absences for leavers as the point of their turnover approaches, using data from employees of two midwestern U.S. organizations, a bank and a manufacturing company. A paired subjects design is used for analysis of the progression notion. The results affirm the existence of a positive association between absenteeism and turnover but provide, at best, weak confirmation of the progression hypothesis. The results from the two organizations are also different from each other. Measurement, sample, analysis, and theory problems are discussed as potential explanations of the differential results.