Determinants of intra-industry trade: A longitudinal,cross-country analysis

Determinants of Intra-Industry Trade: A Longitudinal, Cross-Country Analysis. — This study examines the determinants of intra-industry trade (IIT using longitudinal data for 68 countries for 1970–1987. The analysis distinguishes between manufacturing and nonmanufacturing countries and compares traditional static estimates with dynamic ones. This approach permits distinctions between equilibrium and disequilibrium structures and, similarly, between historical and current sources of IIT. The results are generally supportive of IIT hypotheses, but there are important differences between manufacturing and nonmanufacturing countries and between the static and dynamic structures. Moreover, the extent of IIT appears to be dominated more by preference than by scale differentials, at least among manufacturing countries.     

Sudden equity price declines and the flight-to-safety phenomenon: additional evidence using daily data

Using daily data we show sudden, extreme declines in the U.S. stock market for crash dates to lead to a capital preserving (as opposed to strategic or tactical) reallocation to government debt securities. In most cases we find flight-induced reallocation reverses direction within one day of a crash. However, for the 1987 world crash we find increased and persistent return volatility in both equity and bond returns lasting up to five days following this dramatic decline in world equity prices. Like previous research in this area, we find equity crashes alter long-run stock/bond return correlations and lead to increased stock and bond return volatility. Finally, we describe the somewhat unique stock and bond correlation adjustments triggered by the 9/11 attack and the impact this event had on the behavior of U.S. equity investors?? flight-to-safety reaction.     

Advancing consumer neuroscience

In the first decade of consumer neuroscience, strong progress has been made in understanding how neuroscience can inform consumer decision making. Here, we sketch the development of this discipline and compare it to that of the adjacent field of neuroeconomics. We describe three new frontiers for ongoing progress at both theoretical and applied levels. First, the field will broaden its boundaries to include genetics and molecular neuroscience, each of which will provide important new insights into individual differences in decision making. Second, recent advances in computational methods will improve the accuracy and out-of-sample generalizability of predicting decisions from brain activity. Third, sophisticated meta-analyses will help consumer neuroscientists to synthesize the growing body of knowledge, providing evidence for consistency and specificity of brain activations and their reliability as measurements of consumer behavior.     

The job stress–job performance relationship in the social service encounter

• The current study empirically examines job performance by considering perceived customer demands as a new antecedent of job stress (JS) and the mediating role of emotion‐focused coping (EFC) on the relationship of JS and physical consequences (PC), and in‐turn job performance. A mailed survey that solicited 2500 social service providers working in the United States rendered a useable random sample of 533. Regression analyses supported the hypothesized relationships. Findings suggest that emotions play an important role in the quality of the social service encounter evidenced by the mediating role of EFC in the relationship between JS and job performance. The introduction of an intervening variable (i.e., EFC) in the JS–job performance relationship extends affective event theory (AET). The findings offer management new insights into the service encounter by identifying a source of JS that creates barriers to value added benefit creation.

Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

High food commodity prices: will they stay? who will pay?

Much of the public discussion of the food price crisis has focused on the sharply increased use of food commodities for biofuel production, framing debate in simple food versus fuel terms. Reality is more complex. Multiple forces drove food prices to high levels and, according to findings we report in this article, these forces will sustain high prices over the medium term. We also find that the distinction between high world prices for food commodities and the consumer costs of food is an important one to make. Food consumers do not buy raw food commodities at international prices. The degree to which the price of traded food commodities and the price of food are related depends on a long list of factors, most of which operate to dampen price transmission. In the search for appropriate policy response, it is essential to measure consumer effects correctly and to apportion properly the causes of current high prices.     

Explicating the ‘like’ on Facebook brand pages: The effect of intensity of Facebook use,number of overall ‘likes’, and number of friends' ‘likes’ on consumers' brand outcomes

This study examined the relationship between the number of overall ‘likes’ and friends' ‘likes’ on Facebook brand pages in influencing consumers' brand attitude, brand trust, brand involvement, and purchase intention, drawing upon theoretical concepts including diffusion of innovations, social capital theory, strength of weak ties, sociometric versus perceptual popularity, and prior research in online impression formation. Results of a 2 × 2 experiment revealed significant main effects of number of overall ‘likes’ and friends' ‘likes’ on key dependent measures. A significant interaction effect was also found between overall ‘likes’ and friends' ‘likes’. Additionally, intensity of Facebook use also mediated the relationships between number of overall ‘likes’ and friends' ‘likes’ with brand attitude, brand trust, and purchase intention.     

Graduates,Dropouts and Slow Finishers: The Effects of Credit Constraints on University Outcomes

The effect of credit constraints on university outcomes is studied. Credit constraints have a negative relationship with dropout, especially on lower achieving high school graduates. Credit constrained students with strong high school achievement are 13–15% more (less) likely to graduate (be slow finishers) relative to otherwise similar students who are potentially or unlikely constrained. Using competing risk analysis, we find dropout is most likely in the first year of study and falls over time for all students. After 3 years of study, the risk of dropout increases for students who are constrained suggesting constraints may eventually bind on these students.     

Exploring corporate citizenship and purchase intention: mediating effects of brand trust and corporate identification

Corporate citizenship represents various organizational activities and status related to the organization's societal and stakeholder obligations. This study develops five different dimensions of corporate citizenship and examines the relationship between the five dimensions and purchase intention by including two key mediators. In the proposed model of this study, purchase intention is indirectly affected by economic, legal, ethical, general philanthropic, and strategic philanthropic citizenship via the mediation of corporate identification and brand trust. Empirical testing using a survey of 353 consumers from various industries confirms most of our hypothesized effects. Last, managerial implications for corporate leaders and limitations of our findings are discussed in depth.