Becoming a tree when I will be dead? Why not! Generation X,Y and Z,and innovative green death practices

Within the theoretical field of ethical consumption, the study focuses on consumer behavior and innovative green death practices. While scarcely investigated in the marketing and consumer behavior research domains, at least four main reasons spur to consider the funeral industry as an interesting subject of enquiry: i) the sector boasts of a significant economic relevance; ii) it is extremely impactful from an environmental and social point of view; iii) it is witnessing interesting innovative processes in the direction of social and environmental sustainability; iv) consumer movements are rising all over the world asking for more sustainable death practices. Thus, adopting an augmented version of the theory of planned behavior (TPB), which includes individuals’ environmentally responsible consumption, and egoistic and altruistic environmental concern, the study investigates behavioral intention to adopt innovative green death practices (a green funeral) of people belonging to three different generations: X, Y, and Z. A purposive sample of 627 Italian people participated in an online the survey. Collected data were analyzed adopting an ordinal logit model. The results confirm the TPB predictive power also in the field of green funeral behavioral intention. Furthermore, environmentally responsible consumption and environmental concern – even though only in its altruistic component – positively influence behavioral intention, and generation exerts a moderating effect among the examined constructs. Overall, the research attempts to enrich the literature on ethical consumption by exploring the underinvestigated phenomenon of buying behavior of unsought and end-of-life products, that of green funerals, and provide managerial recommendations to funeral service sellers.     

An evaluation framework for developing green infrastructure by using a new hybrid multiple attribute decision-making model for promoting environmental sustainability

With the expansion of urbanization caused by the growth of population and industrial activities, the urban/city and suburban areas are facing a variety of environmental threats. Although more research and urban policy has advocated and practiced the development of green infrastructure (GI) to support urban sustainable environment, the evaluation framework for the development of GI for promoting environmental sustainability is still insufficient. Moreover, the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) commonly applied in published literature, makes an unrealistic assumption of independent relationships among dimensions/criteria in decision making for satisfying the real-world problem. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to construct the evaluation framework, including four dimensions and related ten criteria, using a new hybrid-modified multiple attribute decision-making (MADM) model for developing and improving the GI for promoting environmental sustainability. This MADM model is combined with three different methodologies of MADM, including the Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) for constructing the influential network relation map (INRM) to explore the complex influential inter-relationships and DEMATEL based on Analytic Network Process (DANP) for determining the influential weights with the VIse Kriterijumska Optimizacija I Kompromisno Resenje (VIKOR) for evaluating and presenting improvement strategies for six different GIs. The empirical study indicates that DEMATEL and DANP Results suggest that decision-makers should pay more attention to the improvement of Design (D₄) and Materials (D₂) in terms of dimensions when utilizing the GI to promote environmental sustainability. Because these dimensions are enhanced, Species (D₁) and Energy (D₃) will be improved in synchronization. From the perspective of criteria, five are key core criteria and need to be focused on first: increasing the green coverage rate (B₉), utilizing sustainable materials (B₄), using ecological engineering (B₈), shaping species biodiversity (B₁), and reducing energy consumption (B₅). Modified VIKOR reveals that “grass swales” are a comparatively better choice among six GIs for promoting environmental sustainability toward achieving the aspiration level. Therefore, this MADM model is beneficial to provide a more convincing assessment framework and improvement strategies for the development of GI for promoting environmental sustainability. As a result, these modified MADM models can be shown more conveniently and reasonably than traditional methods such as traditional AHP or ANP method.     

国家级新区绿色增长能力建设影响因素分析

基于利益相关者理论，通过文献研究与实地调研，梳理了影响国家级新区绿色增长能力建设的主要因素，并应用Grey DEMATEL方法进行影响因素因果关系分析，在此基础上进一步剖析国家级新区绿色增长能力建设内在机理。研究结果表明：法律法规完善性是影响国家级新区绿色增长能力建设的根本性动力因素，同时，也是新区绿色增长能力建设内在机理的重要外在驱动力。此外，当地居民环境意识也是影响国家级新区绿色增长能力建设的重要结果性因素，而企业绿色管理实践、绿色技术进步与创新能力作为重要的关键性因素，对国家级新区绿色增长能力作用显著，是国家级新区绿色增长能力建设的重要内在驱动力。     

绿色环保军用食品的研究与进展

军用野战食品是保证战士饮食的重要食物,对提高战士的身体素质、提升军队的战斗力具有至关重要的作用。各国军队首脑对此都十分重视,将此项内容作为军队建设的重要内容。基于此,本文综述了相关学者对军用食品的研究,以期为相关学者提供借鉴。     

Cooperative game analysis of coordination mechanisms under fairness concerns of a green retailer

This study discusses how a green retailer's fairness concerns affect product greenness and profit and explores how to distribute surplus profits under the fairness concerns using cooperative game theory. Research findings indicate that cooperation contributes to increasing channel profits and improving product greenness, but the fairness concerns are detrimental to them. The three proposed coordination mechanisms (SVM, NSM, and TVM) are feasible to ensure coalition stability, but their beneficiaries differ. NSM benefits a manufacturer, while SVM benefits retailers. Additionally, the green retailer's fairness concerns serve as distribution tools to narrow profit gaps between the manufacturer and the green retailer.     

高管团队异质性、团队冲突与企业绿色绩效——差异化CEO领导风格调节下的整合分析框架

基于高阶梯队等理论，从高层管理团队异质性等要素整合分析视角切入，在探讨高层管理团队驱动企业绿色绩效作用机制的基础上，尝试构建差异化CEO领导风格调节下高管团队（TMT）异质性、团队冲突与企业绿色绩效的理论模型；通过层次回归分析、Bootstrap等方法实证检验异质性高层管理团队的作用机理和边界。研究结果显示：①TMT异质性、任务冲突能显著提升企业绿色绩效，且任务冲突在TMT异质性与企业绿色绩效的关系中起部分中介效应，而关系冲突显著降低企业绿色绩效。多元化构成的高层管理团队拥有更多差异化思想，这些观点通过高层管理团队成员不断分析整合后作用于绿色绩效，而成员间“对人不对事”的关系冲突会弱化该过程，进而对绿色绩效产生负向影响；②变革型CEO领导风格负向调节任务冲突与企业绿色绩效的关系，表明CEO适度简政放权，指导、关怀和保障高管团队成员充分表达观点非常重要。交易型CEO领导风格负向调节关系冲突与企业绿色绩效的关系，说明CEO通过奖惩激励，降低高层管理团队情绪冲突，提升团队凝聚，是推动绿色转型的重要举措。     

我国主要粮食产品国际竞争力分析

我国主要粮食产品产量在国际上排名靠前,但是国际市场占有率较低,国际竞争力长期处于劣势地位。当前国际经济形势缓慢复苏,正是着力提升我国主要粮食产品国际竞争力的大好时机。文章基于我国主要粮食产品国际贸易现状,重点通过相关指数和回归模型对我国主要粮食产品国际竞争力进行分析,从而得出若干结论及建议。     

Razor-and-Blades pricing revisited

From razors and blades to printers and ink cartridges to smartphones and monthly usage charges to media devices and content, razor-and-blades pricing is commonplace. The argument for such a business model is compelling: entice consumers to adopt with a low initial price for the ‘razor,’ build up an installed base, and more than make up for the initial subsidy by charging a high price for replacement ‘blades.’ The problem is, many consumer enticement, customer lock-in, and competitive lock-out mechanisms look less and less tenable given modern-day developments such as the Internet, Google searches, social media, the hacker revolution, the ‘maker movement,’ rapidly improving technology, leaky supply chains, and global markets. This article characterizes the what, why, and how of razor-and-blades pricing; then examines the present-day tenability of such a pricing practice; and concludes with an impetus and a call for innovation—innovation in, perhaps, the pricing of and the purchasing arrangement for the initial razor; the value proposition from the razor and the razor-and-blades system; the architecture of the razor-and-blades system; and the delivery, especially in terms of customer experience, of value from the razor-and-blades system.     

“互联网+”与消费品制造企业转型——基于架构创新的视角

通过研究架构理论,分析了消费品制造企业在"互联网+"背景下的架构创新。提出变换外围要素、核心要素相同的二阶中性置换可以形成两种不同的消费品制造企业架构创新模式。经过改进的双层技术接受模型检验,两种模式的结果殊途同归,预测两种模式结合的双层架构创新模式会成为未来新型消费品制造企业架构创新的主流。     

Impact of Shari’ah on Consumers’ Behavior Toward Sales Promotion Tools: Focus on Egyptian Convenience Products

This study measures to what extent compliance with Shari’ah moderates the relationship between different sales promotion tools—namely, price discount, product demonstration and sampling, buy one get one free (bonus pack), sweepstakes/lucky draws, scratch and win offers, and free samples—and three consumer behavioral responses (product trial, stockpiling, and spending more) for buying convenience products from supermarkets in Egypt. A total of 381 selected Muslim consumers/shoppers were surveyed via face-to-face interviews using a structured questionnaire. Overall correlation analysis between the six proposed sales promotion tools and consumers’ response behavior in general demonstrated a significant relationship. However, some specific tools did not indicate a significant relationship with specific response behaviors. Furthermore, correlation analysis initially indicated that there is a positive significant relationship between all sales promotion tools and compliance with Shari’ah, with the exception of sweepstakes and scratch and win offers, which demonstrated a significant negative relationship. Furthermore, after running linear stepwise regression, the model was fit (62%), indicating the moderating role of compliance with Shari’ah in the relationship between specific sales promotion tools—namely, sweepstakes/games and scratch and win offers—and Muslim consumers’ behavioral responses. Generally speaking, marketers should consider Shari’ah and ethical principles in Islam before creatively crafting promotional tools to attract Muslim consumers, and new tools could be developed with an Islamic orientation to attract Muslim consumers.