An emerging tourism planning paradigm? A comparative analysis between town and tourism planning

This article examines the roots and the evolution of tourism and town planning theory and practice. It discusses how both fields have interacted with each other, and provides some clues about the way in which tourism and town planning theory and practice are likely to evolve in the future. It is argued that tourism planning theory is still looking for its own identity and ways of evolving in the future. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Trade Receivables Policy of Distressed Firms and Its Effect on the Costs of Financial Distress

This paper studies the trade receivables policy of distressed firms as the trade-off between the firm's willingness to gain sales and the firm's need for cash. We find that firms increase trade receivables when they have profitability problems, but reduce trade receivables when they have cash flow problems. We also find that a firm that significantly cuts its trade receivables when in financial distress will experience an additional drop of at least 13% in sales and stock returns over the previously documented 20% average drop for financially troubled firms. Moreover, the performance decline of a firm in financial distress is significantly higher if the firm cuts trade receivables than if it does not.     

Productivity and international competitiveness of agriculture in the European Union and the United States

This study looks at international competitiveness of agriculture in the European Union and the United States. The most intuitive concept is that of price competitiveness. We calculate relative prices for 11 member states of the European Union and the United States for the period 1973–2002. We assume that markets are perfectly competitive and in long‐run equilibrium, so that the observed price always equals average total cost, as measured by the cost dual to the production function. This assumption is used in our calculation of relative competitiveness and productivity gaps between the European Union and the United States and in our decomposition of relative price movements between changes in relative input prices and changes in relative productivity levels.     

The effects of scent on consumer behaviour

This article presents a systematic review of extant research on the effects of scent on consumer behaviour for readers of the International Journal of Consumer Studies. Although many articles have been published on this topic in recent years, there is a need for a comprehensive summary of up‐to‐date findings in this area of research. A systematic literature review is conducted with selected Chartered Association of Business Schools‐ranked journals in the fields of marketing and psychology, covering the period between 1980 and 2015. Thematic areas include the impact of scent on consumers’ cognitive and affective responses, attitudes and perceptions, as well as memory and behaviours. Relevant mediators and moderators of the effects of scent on these variables include affect, cognition, awareness and individual or environmental stimuli. Gaps for future research are identified and include the role of consumer awareness of scent and its influence on behaviour. Although this article provides a systematic review of the literature within the fields of psychology and marketing, it acknowledges that a large body of research regarding human responses to odours exists within other disciplinary fields such as neuroscience. The potential for, as well as the ethical caveats of, using scent stimuli for marketing purposes are also considered. This article makes a significant contribution to the consumer behaviour literature given its systematic article selection and review process, encompassing the most up‐to‐date research and focusing on all key thematic areas related to scent and consumption.     

Increasing a brand’s competitive clout: the role of market share,consumer preference,and price sensitivity

The market power (or ‘competitive clout’) of a brand is an increasingly important component of modern marketing strategies. However, the factors that enhance a brand’s competitive clout (BCC) are poorly understood. This study therefore suggests an integrated model of BCC and three factors that are proposed to play a role in its formation: (i) consumer price sensitivity; (ii) brand market share; and (iii) consumer brand preferences. These variables are examined both individually and simultaneously to demonstrate the direct effect of each on BCC and how their inter-relationships contribute to BCC. In doing so, a two-step empirical analysis is conducted. First, two multinomial logit models provide an own- and a cross-price response matrix for a chosen set of competitive brands. Secondly, BCC is regressed against the variables of market share, intrinsic preferences, and price sensitivity using an interaction effects regression model. The results of the analysis show that market share is not the only way to increase BCC; in particular, consumer preferences, and especially pricing decisions, are shown to play a key role in developing a strong brand.     

The impact of affective and cognitive antecedents on negative word-of-mouth intentions

Negative word-of-mouth (WOM), defined as derogatory information disseminated from person to person and aimed at defaming a product, highlighting a product complaint, and/or highlighting unsatisfactory service experiences, influences consumer behavior and can harm a company’s image. The present study was conducted to ascertain the impact of affective antecedents (negative emotions) and cognitive antecedents (distrust) in the intent of negative WOM. A proposed theoretical model was employed to analyze the effect that perceived injustice had on negative WOM and how this effect was mediated by emotional and cognitive aspects. The research was a pre-experimental design – one treatment leading to one observation – with 252 students. Through an OLS regression and mediation analyses, we found an indirect link between perceived injustice and negative WOM intent, which was mediated by negative emotions and distrust. Contributing to the field of marketing studies, this paper fills an investigative gap regarding affective and cognitive antecedents as mediators of negative WOM. The results suggest that marketing managers should create mechanisms to allow consumers to express their negative emotions and rebuild their trust in order to avoid the spread of negative WOM.     

Vertical Intra-Industry Trade and Foreign Direct Investment between Japan and European Countries

In this paper, we provide an overview of the development of vertical intra-industry trade (VIIT) between Japan and various European countries, including both old and new EU members, as well as emerging Central and Eastern European countries. VIIT indices constructed in this paper cover a much wider range of margins of unit price ratio than existing studies. Our empirical model attempts to explain the distributional characteristics of VIIT through foreign direct investments (FDI), in addition to traditional determinants of IIT, such as differences in GDP per capita, average GDP, and smaller and larger GDPs. Our sample covers the period from 1988 to 2004 for bilateral trade between Japan and 31 European countries. Our econometric methodology for these panel data uses fixed-effect model estimation with a variable transformation determined by a Box-Cox approach. We find that intra-industry trade between European countries and Japan increases with their corresponding Japanese FDIs, especially for new EU member countries. Our results also indicate that it is important to measure a wider range of quality based on relative prices rather than the traditional ratio used in the literature.     

Characteristics of Portuguese public‐sector project managers: Toward closing the effectiveness gap

Using a sample of 102 Portuguese public‐sector officials with project management experience, this study examines the characteristics of effective project managers in the Portuguese public sector. Factor‐analysis procedures are used to identify the factors related to areas of knowledge relevant to effective project management. The results appear to stress the increasing importance of people, organizational, and leadership skills in the effective management of today's complex and dynamic projects.     

Are large portions always bad? Using the Delboeuf illusion on food packaging to nudge consumer behavior

Exaggerated portion sizes are generally pictured on the front of product packaging in order to stimulate food craving and encourage consumer purchasing decisions. However, one problem with such images is that they can set inappropriate norms as far as food consumption is concerned and hence result in people serving themselves more than they otherwise might. The research reported here builds on the fact that depicting a food portion in a smaller (vs. larger) container (i.e., plate or bowl) creates the illusion of a larger (vs. smaller) portion, although the actual quantity of food remains the same (this is known as the Delboeuf illusion). Here, we demonstrate in two experiments that by presenting food in a smaller container (thus giving rise to the illusion of a relatively larger portion), participants have higher purchase intentions (study 1) and perceive the food as being more appetizing (study 2) but, crucially, decrease the size of the portion that they serve themselves (studies 1 and 2). Overall, by giving the impression of a larger portion on product packaging, the Delboeuf illusion could potentially be used to nudge consumers to find food more desirable, while at the same time leading them to reduce their serving, thus potentially benefitting both consumers and the food industry.     

The ‘disguised’ foreign investor: Brands,trademarks and the British expatriate entrepreneur in Brazil

Abstract

This article examines the impact of the British expatriate entrepreneur, and his processes of knowledge transfer, on the industrialization and economic development of Brazil between 1875 and 1914. It focuses on the textiles industry, and combines original trademark data with conventional trade and investment statistics, and also case study analysis about firms and their entrepreneurs. It argues that British investment in Brazil was higher and had a deeper impact on economic development than considered by existing research, as expatriate entrepreneurs ‘disguised’ a substantial amount of foreign investments by acting as shareholders and top managers of newly established local businesses.