Sales promotions for preorder products: The role of time‐of‐release

Preorder offers are increasingly common for many types of products and services. Sales promotions, such as price discounts and free gifts, are frequently used to raise offer attractiveness and elicit a stronger sales response. Through a series of experiments, we show that a preorder promotion's effectiveness depends on whether it matches the construal level associated with timing of the featured product's release. When a match occurs, it increases consumers’ positive affect leading to higher purchase intention directly or by raising the perceived certainty of new product quality. In addition, we find interesting differences related to promotion type. Specifically, we show that a larger discount promotes low‐level construals, which leads to stronger purchase intentions only when the product is scheduled for near‐future release. Since a gift may elicit either high‐ or low‐level construals, a premium offer of higher perceived value leads to stronger purchase intentions regardless of release timing.     

The market for certification by external parties: Evidence from underwriting and banking relationships

This paper provides evidence that an underwriter is better able to certify an equity issue if it has a lending relationship with the firm. An announcement of being underwritten by the firm’s lending-relationship bank reduces ex post information asymmetry, thereby improving the announcement return. Further, because this reduction in information asymmetry effectively disseminates what was previously the lending bank’s private information, it decreases its affiliated market maker’s information advantage, thus reducing its contribution to price discovery and liquidity. These results provide evidence on the value of information production and transmission by banks, and more generally on the role of external parties in reducing information asymmetry.     

Towards internal cohesion? The role of local government in economic development under the EU Single Programme in Northern Ireland

This paper focuses on the extent to which EU funding available under the Local Economic Development Measure of the Northern Ireland Single Programme (1994-99) has encouraged local government in Northern Ireland to adopt a new role in local economic development. It also considers whether the implementation of the Measure has effectively addressed its objectives of economic and social cohesion. It discusses the rationale for district council involvement and concludes that the local government structure in Northern Ireland requires adaptation to optimise the impact of the aid on offer.     

Self-regulation,Corporate Social Responsibility,and the Business Case: Do they Work in Achieving Workplace Equality and Safety?

The political shift toward an economic liberalism in many developed market economies, emphasizing the importance of the marketplace rather than government intervention in the economy and society (Dorman, Systematic Occupational Health and Safety Management: Perspectives on an International Development, 2000; Tombs, Policy and Practice in Health and Safety 3(1):24–25, 2005; Walters, Policy and Practice in Health and Safety 03(2):3–19, 2005), featured a prominent discourse centered on the need for business flexibility and competitiveness in a global economy (Dorman, 2000; Tombs, 2005). Alongside these developments was an increasing pressure for corporate social responsibility (CSR). The business case for CSR – that corporations would benefit from voluntarily being socially responsible – was increasingly promoted by governments and corporations as part of the justification for self-regulation. The aim of the article is to examine more closely the proposition that self-regulation is effective, with particular reference to the business case for workplace equality and safety. Based on a comprehensive literature review and documentary analysis, it was found that current predominant management discourse and practice focusing on diversity and safety management systems (OHSMS) resonate well with a government and corporate preference for the business case and self-regulation. However, the centrality of individual rather than organizational factors in diversity and OHSMS means that systemic discrimination and inherent workplace hazards are downplayed, making it less likely that employers will initiate structural remedies needed for real change. Thus, reliance on the business case in the argument for self-regulation is problematic. In terms of government policy and management practice, the business case needs to be supplemented by strong, proactive legislation, and worker involvement.     

Livestock Revenue Insurance

This study outlines several possible structures for livestock revenue insurance. The policies take the form of an exotic option, an Asian basket option. The actuarially fair premiums for these policies are equal to the prices of the options they represent. Because of the complexity of pricing Asian basket options, we combined two techniques for pricing options to reach the actuarially fair premiums. Projected premiums, producer welfare, and program efficiency are evaluated for the insurance products and existing market tools. Using efficiency ratios and certainty equivalent returns, we compare the insurance policies to strategies involving existing futures and options. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark 21:553–580, 2001     

Taking the customer into account: Transcending the construction of the customer through the promotion of self-accounting

The importance that businesses have accorded their customers during the past thirty years has not, as yet, been fully matched by the development of accounting for the customer. A range of customer-related techniques has emerged, including customer profitability analysis, the balanced scorecard and several strategic management accounting approaches. In large part these can be characterised as attempts to construct the customer in a very conventional manner, one which serves the interests of business rather than customers. Similar emphases can also be identified in the marketing management literature, which in recent years has shown worrying signs of becoming focused on the adoption of a form of hard number accounting. The purpose of this paper is to provide a review and critique of extant customer accounting techniques and approaches, as well as identifying some of the fundamentals of a more appealing attempt at ‘taking the customer into account’.     

The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business Is Selling Less of More by Chris Anderson

Books reviewed in this issue:

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  The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business Is Selling Less of More

       

Finite Horizon Bargaining and the Consistent Field

We explore the relationships between noncooperative bargaining games and the consistent value for nontransferable utility (NTU) cooperative games. A dynamic approach to the consistent value is introduced: the consistent vector field. The main contribution is to establish that theconsistent fieldis intimately related to the concept ofsubgame perfectionfor finite horizon noncooperative bargaining games, as the horizon goes to infinity and the cost of delay goes to zero. We then show that in the general NTU case—unlike the transferable utility and pure bargaining cases—the finite horizon subgame perfect equilibria need not approach the consistent value.Journal of Economic LiteratureClassification Numbers: C71, C72.