Can Social Marketing Segmentation Initiatives Be Used to Increase Household Electricity Conservation?

Australia is one of the highest per capita emitters of carbon dioxide in the world, therefore improving energy conservation efforts is important to Australia's economic, social, and environmental well-being. In such an environment, long-term policy changes to energy conservation are likely to be contentious, complex, and costly. In this context the use of a complementary social marketing segmentation framework to guide the intervention process could provide additional leverage for policy makers to facilitate short-term improvements, which are aligned with their longer-term goals. This article focuses on the application of market segmentation techniques as potential motivators to electricity conservation efforts in the existing context of residential users of electricity in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. It investigates the impact of a range of hypothetical consequence incentive packages (i.e., financial reward and feedback frequency) on attitudes toward energy conservation using a cross-sectional survey of 188 respondents from metropolitan NSW residents. It is proposed that incentive packages for energy conservation campaigns will be most effective when targeted specifically to each of the environmental attitudes and beliefs segments.     

Co-Creating Value in a Retail Market Setting

It is usually assumed that the co-creation of value requires a close relationship between producers and customers. Typically, this is easier in a business-to-business context, where the numbers of customers and suppliers are relatively low and the capabilities and needs of each partner can readily be assessed. On the other hand, it could be assumed that the co-creation of value in a business-to-consumer context is likely to be more difficult, given the larger numbers of customers and more frequent, short-term, discrete transactions. This article investigates whether it is possible to co-create valuable consumer experiences in a mass market setting by examining the customer relationship strategies of eight Norwegian seafood retailers. The results show that considerable effort from both retailers and consumers are devoted to co-create valuable consumer experiences. We also reveal a repertoire of strategies to engage customers in the co-creation process. Findings are discussed and implications highlighted.     

A Cross-Cultural Perspective on Management in Kenya

ABSTRACT

The management discipline is largely populated by models embedded in western cultural views and values. This paper addresses the generally misplaced confidence of management scholars in utilizing western culture-based models of management to analyze management practices and perspectives in African countries. This paper starts with the premise that management is, at its core, a cultural practice that is derived from a cultural value system. As such, exporting US/western management models and practices abroad requires adaptation to local cultural dynamics and socioeconomic conditions. Furthermore, with western management models using nation-state as a unit of analysis to analyze culture, there is an assumption that all peoples (and localities) within a national culture are isomorphic in their value systems. From a cross-cultural management perspective, this is not only misleading but problematic because, by implication, international managers ignore internal cultural differences and dynamics and how various cultural groups interact with foreign businesses. This study argues that an informed understanding of a nation's sociopolitical history, economic conditions, geography, and internal cultural dynamics is crucial for international managers working in Africa. Using Kenya as an example, the study discusses the misplaced application of western culture-based management models and proposes a culturally-integrative framework of management.     

The determinants of jobless durations of displaced workers in Canada

A hazard model of jobless durations is estimated using data from the 1986 Canadian Displaced Workers Survey. Hypothesis concerning demographic difference in reeployment transitions are testes and the effect of certain labour market and policy variables is assested. The findings are compared with those published in studies using the United States Displayed Workers Survey,and attempt to exploit certain information which is unavailable in the US data set. The demographic variables play an important ans expected role in determining the distribution of jobless spels. Characterstic pertaining to the former job,such as union status and wage level,also have explanatory power. Contrary to the findings of US studies,the length of tenure of the former job is insignificant,and the less difference in duration is found for workers who lost their jobs due to a plant closure as opposed to those displaced via a partial layoff.     

Making a Drama Out of a Crisis a Dramaturgical Perspective on the New Technology Controversy

The introduction of new technology often leads to strong public concerns about potential hazards. There are situations where unfounded concerns obstruct highly beneficial developments, but, equally, there are situations where unintended consequences of new technology are overlooked and individuals are harmed. Clearly there are advantages in improving the dialogue between those introducing the technology and those who could be affected by it.

This article uses dramaturgical analysis to explore the interactions between actors in a real life case study, the introduction of a hydrogen refuelling facility in London. Dramaturgical analysis in the traditions of Burke and Goffman explores interactions from the perspective of impression management. The thesis is that the fronts that actors use must relate to the settings they find themselves in, and this matching of front with setting constrains what can credibly be communicated in any situation. This research provides insights into the differences between the front necessary for credibility within an organisation and the fronts necessary for credibility in communicating with the public. It demonstrates how communication can be blocked by the situations actors find themselves in and conflict can emerge as a substitute for effective communication.     

EC Accounting Harmonisation: An Empirical Study of Measurement Practices in France,Germany and the UK

This research attempts to assess the extent to which accounting measurement practices in France, Germany and the UK are currently harmonised in the context of the major effort that has been made to promote EC accounting harmonisation. The statistical tests show that there are significant differences between France, Germany and the UK in respect of all the practices evaluated. Furthermore, the I-indices used to measure the overall level of international accounting harmony across the three countries indicate a wide and relatively low range of values.     

Accounting Reforms in China: Cultural Constraints on Implementation and Development

There is considerable theory and evidence to suggest that culture is an important environmental variable influencing the development of accounting systems internationally. According to the Hofstede (1980) and Gray (1988) cultural models, China's accounting development and practice should be in the cluster that supports statutory control, uniform practices, a conservative measurement approach and secrecy in disclosure. A uniform and rigid system of financial reporting has been practised for decades in the People's Republic of China under the centrally controlled economy. The accounting reforms launched since the 1980s aim to establish a new framework for regulating financial reporting which is adaptable to China's recently emerged socialist market economy. The adoption of accounting standards in the later phases of the reforms marks a dramatic turning point in China's accounting history towards a more international Anglo-Saxon orientation in financial reporting. Based on an analysis of the authority for accounting systems, the accounting profession and accounting measurement and disclosure in China, it is argued that this development will be constrained by the influence of China's culture and its accounting subculture. While financial reporting will be governed by accounting standards, their development and enforcement will remain a governmental and legalistic function. Accountants will continue to rely heavily on detailed technical rules. This mixed orientation will constitute China's unique national identity in terms of its accounting and financial reporting system.