Who will embrace upward line extension? The role of power distance belief

Upward line extension is a significant strategy for enterprise brand management and market expansion. However, a new status product launched by a non-status brand through upward line extension inevitably forms a competitive relationship with the status product launched by a status brand. Based on the categorization theory, this study explores the influence of status product type (non-extended status product, upward-extended status product) on consumer responses and its potential psychological mechanisms. Furthermore, it examines the moderating role of power distance belief (PDB) in the relationship between status product type and consumer responses. The results indicate that consumers develop lower product evaluations and purchase intentions for upward-extended status products compared to non-extended status products (Studies 1, 2a, 2b, and 2c). Perceived fit and signaling effectiveness mediate the effect of status product type on consumer responses (Study 1). More importantly, PDB moderates the effect of status product type on consumer responses, as high-PDB consumers respond similarly to upward-extended and non-extended status products, whereas low-PDB consumers respond more negatively to upward-extended status products compared to non-extended status products (Studies 2a, 2b, and 2c). Perceived fit and signaling effectiveness mediate the interaction effect between PDB and status product type on consumer responses (Studies 2a and 2b). This study augments the literature on vertical brand extension and PDB, and provides practical guidance for marketers intending to launch upward line extension.     

The influence of visually dynamic imagery on purchase intentions: The roles of arousal and lay rationalism

The presence of motion is increasingly common in online advertising. Despite the increase in spending on digital advertisements and decades of academic research on dynamic imagery in advertising, our understanding of this phenomenon remains limited. The dynamic default hypothesis posits that animated imagery should generate more arousal than comparable static imagery. However, research on advertisements containing dynamic imagery reveal inconsistencies in their ability to stimulate arousal. A potential explanation for these inconsistent findings lies in the behavioral urgency hypothesis, which postulates that not all motion is weighted equally in terms of its ability to generate arousal. We conduct three experiments to test this proposition. Interestingly, our findings show that imagery appearing to loom closer to consumers stimulates greater levels of arousal than either static or imagery appearing to recede away from consumers. Additionally, our work identifies moderating effects of lay rationalism which can work to strengthen or attenuate these effects. Together, this work provides a more comprehensive explanation for the varied findings in the literature.     

The Nobel Memorial Prize for William D. Nordhaus

William D. Nordhaus and Paul M. Romer received the 2018 Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel. This paper surveys Nordhaus’ contributions on “integrating climate change into long‐run macroeconomic analysis”, for which he was recognized with this Prize.     

数字普惠金融、商业保险购买与农村居民幸福感

本文首先梳理了数字普惠金融、商业保险购买与农村居民幸福感三者之间的关系,然后基于2017年中国家庭金融调查数据(CHFS)和北京大学数字普惠金融发展指数进行实证检验。结果表明:数字普惠金融发展能够显著提升农村居民幸福感,且该影响对于低年龄段、低收入以及东部地区的家庭更显著。进一步影响机制分析表明:数字普惠金融通过影响家庭商业保险购买进而提升农村居民幸福感。同时,在考虑了内生性和稳健性问题后,结论依然成立。本研究为进一步甄别幸福感的影响因素、理解幸福的深层本质、推动乡村振兴和提升农村居民幸福感提供了新的思路与启示。     

设立定金担保必须注意的几个问题——以3个大学生购买计算机案为例

本文通过对三个大学生购买计算机案例的分析,回答了签订定金担保合同时应注意以下问题：明确设立定金担保是否具有必要性、了解定金的性质、遵循下定金的程序和明确定金担保合同应采取书面形式。