Are the supporters of socialism the losers of capitalism? Conformism in East Germany and transition success

The empirical literature is inconclusive about whether a country’s democratization has a long-lasting impact on former supporters or opponents of the bygone regime. With newly available individual-level data of former residents of the socialist German Democratic Republic (GDR), we analyze how supporters and opponents of the socialist system performed within the market-based democracy after reunification. Protesters, who helped to overthrow the socialist regime in the Peaceful Revolution, show higher life satisfaction and better labor market outcomes in the new politico-economic system. Former members of the ruling socialist party and employees in state-supervised sectors become substantially less satisfied. These results do not seem to be driven by differential reactions in the post-transition period, but rather by the removal of discriminatory practices in the GDR. Additional results indicate that conformism in the GDR also explains political preferences over the almost three decades after the reunification of Germany.     

Employees' work-family conflict moderating life and job satisfaction

The top-down perspective (i.e., life satisfaction influences job satisfaction) and the dispositional perspective are the focuses of the current study's research on life-work spillovers. This study investigates the impact of life satisfaction on job satisfaction under different situations of work-family conflict. The results of a field survey reveal responses from 121 sales managers from 26 hotels in China to test the moderating effects of work-family conflict on the relationship between life and job satisfaction. Analysis involves hierarchical regression with follow-up examination utilizing simple slope analysis. The results imply that employees facing less conflict between work and family tend to carry positive aspects from daily life to the workplace. The results also support the value of managerial efforts to have an organizational climate welcoming to employees' families. Even in China, where labor resources are abundant, family-friendly policies would help to increase the business success of hotels.     

Micro-entrepreneurship and subjective well-being: Evidence from rural Bangladesh

Microcredit has long been hailed as a powerful tool to promote livelihoods and reduce poverty through entrepreneurship. However, its impacts on people's subjective well-being remain underexplored. We present a unified theoretical framework for analyzing the effect of microcredit-enabled entrepreneurship on overall life satisfaction – a key manifestation of subjective well-being. Empirically, we apply an instrumental variable approach to a unique census-like household survey conducted in three villages of Bangladesh in 2013. In spite of having no direct effects, we find that microcredit borrowing has an indirect negative effect on overall life satisfaction, through increased worry. On a positive note, we find that female micro-borrowers experience an increase in satisfaction with financial security and achievement in life. We also provide evidence that micro-borrowers with higher levels of assets experience an increase in satisfaction with financial security.     

Marketing orientation and activities in the arts-marketing context: Introducing a Visual Artists’ Marketing Trajectory model

Abstract

Answering the call by Fillis, this paper aims to build an ‘arts-marketing orientation’ model by exploring the parallel relationship that exists between the Product Life Cycle (PLC) and the notion of the ‘career trajectory’ (as it applies to visual artists). In so doing, this paper provides a finer-grained understanding of the marketing orientation and activities of visual artists as they progress through their career. Qualitative analysis of the data (and the subsequent development of the Visual Artists’ Marketing Trajectory model) suggests that the marketing orientation and activities undertaken by visual artists deviates significantly from the assumptions underpinning traditional marketing theory. Unlike customer orientation (central to traditional marketing theories), this research suggests that in the arts-marketing context, the marketing orientation and activities of visual artists change according to the career trajectory stage in question.     

Modernity/art and Marketing/aesthetics—a Note on the Social Aesthetics of Georg Simmel

This paper interrogates and contrasts representations of work and Utopia in two examples of popular culture. The examples are a sample of contemporary popular management books and a sample of work-related themes in the popular music of Bruce Springsteen. In comparing the two the paper examines how they both use utopian representations as a key element of their claims, yet do so in markedly different ways. It is argued that Springsteen uses a “voice from within” to explore the ambiguities and paradoxes that emerge from the gap between real experience and utopian desire. Conversely, popular management books tend to speak from a “voice from above” that actively suppress ambiguity and ignore power in order to reproduce the dominant ethos of contemporary capitalism. Thus while popular management provides uncritical support for its imaginary Utopia, Springsteen provides a compelling critique of the promises of economic freedom through capitalism—promises which management writers are so often complicit in (re)producing.     

Stress can help or hinder novelty seeking: The role of consumer life history strategies

Previous research shows mixed findings on whether stress increases or decreases novelty seeking. In three studies, using both archival and experimental data, and including more than 61,000 consumers from over 55 different countries, we show that it can do both, albeit for consumers differing in “life history strategies” (LHSs), that is, short-term, impulsive, and reward-sensitive (fast) versus long-term, reflective, and controlled (slow) strategies. We find that stress increases (helps) novelty seeking for fast, but decreases (hinders) novelty seeking for slow LHS consumers. Moreover, under baseline (low stress) conditions, fast LHS consumers display a lower tendency for novelty seeking than slow LHS consumers. Interestingly, these effects are present for acute stress but not for chronic (pandemic) stress. We discuss the implications of our findings for public policy and positioning strategies, specifying when and for whom novel (versus familiar) products and services might be most effectively and efficiently marketed.     

草根组织发育与农民幸福感

文章使用2012-2017年中国22个省325个村庄的4863个农户的混合截面数据探究了村庄中草根组织发育情况对农村居民幸福感的影响，为社会组织发展情况和幸福感之间关系的讨论增添了新证据。研究发现：村庄草根组织发育程度对农村居民的幸福感具有显著正向影响，即村庄中的草根组织数量越多，其居民幸福感越高；进一步使用生活满意度法（Life Satisfaction Approach，LSA）对草根组织的货币价值进行估计发现，村庄中草根组织数量每增加1个百分点带来的幸福感增加相当于家庭人均总收入增加0.667个百分点带来的幸福感增加。研究结论表明，发展乡村草根组织是提升农村居民幸福感的一个有效途径。     

Childhood health and future outcomes: Evidence from panel surveys for the Japanese population

Numerous studies in developed and developing countries around the world have found that childhood health is associated with future health and socioeconomic status. This paper uses nationally representative panel surveys to examine the impact of poor childhood health on the future socioeconomic outcomes of the Japanese population. I find that poor childhood health adversely affects various future health conditions for the middle and long run, and that the effects on subjective and physical health are amplified with age. In addition, poor childhood health negatively affects promotion opportunities in the mid-term and labor participation over the long-term. Moreover, I find that low parental income directly and negatively affects subjective and psychological health. The empirical results imply that public policy for continuous good health in childhood improves future socioeconomic outcomes.     

马克思资本生产方式批判的启示:发展低碳经济,提高生活质量

本文通过对儒家、道家、柏拉图和资本主义理想社会生活模式和实现途径的分析,指出美国生活模式的局限是过于透支自然资源,所以要依靠大力发展低碳经济这条新途径来进一步提高人类社会的生活质量。     

从生殖健康角度看女性乡—城迁移工人的生活风险

在城市就业、生活的女性乡—城迁移工人普遍存在生殖健康问题,本文从生活风险后果及如何防范的角度对这个问题进行了研究,认为除了提高女性乡—城迁移工人自身生殖健康知识和防治生殖健康疾病的能力之外,政府有必要通过公共部门及企业对女性乡—城迁移工人的生殖健康问题进行干预,更好地维护劳动力市场的稳定性,提高女性乡—城迁移工人在城市地区的生活水平。