A purchase decision support model considering consumer personalization about aspirations and risk attitudes

Ranking alternative products to help consumers make better purchase choices is a valuable research topic. Most previous decision support models cannot be well applied to heterogeneous consumers. This paper focuses on establishing a personalized interactive model to assist consumers make better buying decisions with less effort. For the alternative products provided by consumers, we collect online reviews and parameter configurations of alternative products and then obtain the fusing evaluative information. As consumers are dominated by bounded rationality, they only provide partially key attribute weights, based on which, we construct an optimizing model to obtain the optimal attribute weights of customers for products. Then, a satisfaction function is proposed by uniting aspiration levels and risk attitudes of consumers and a compensatory decision rules is established to rank and recommend the brands to consumers. Finally, practicability of this study is illustrated with a real car purchase case. Through the case study, it can be seen that the proposed decision support model generates a personalized list of alternatives based on consumer's own utility function about risk attitudes, aspiration levels, and preferences for product attributes, which further confirms that the proposed model can capture the personalized needs of consumers. Theoretical and managerial implications of this model as well as advantages are further illustrated.     

Would you bring home ugly produce? Motivators and demotivators for ugly food consumption

It is important to reduce food waste by successfully promoting ugly food consumption. Thus, this study uses the food quality attribute model to investigate certain key factors - motivators and demotivators that can influence consumers’ attitudes toward and subsequent purchases of ugly produce. This study further examines differences in these key factors between ugly food buyers and non-buyers. The results indicate that price consciousness and environmental self-identity stimulate ugly food consumption, but physical appearance discourages its purchase. The influences of the motivators are more salient for buyers, while the influences of the demotivators are more salient for non-buyers.     

基于供应链管理的建筑物料采购管理模式研究

文中从建筑施工企业传统建筑物料采购管理模式的弊端出发,利用矩阵分析法将建筑物料分为战略型、重要型、一般型和瓶颈型物料,相对应的将供应商分为战略型、重要型、普通型和技术型供应商,并结合供应链管理的先进理论,针对不同类型的物料进行了不同的采购管理模式研究.     

The Loser's Curse: Accounting for the Transaction Costs of Takeover and the Distortion of Takeover Motives

Studies for major stock markets of share price movements in the period around a takeover show that target company shareholders typically experience large gains in wealth but that acquiring company shareholders do not. The reasons for this asymmetry–and, in particular, for the absence of gains for the shareholders of the companies which initiate the deal–are imperfectly understood. This note suggests one factor contributing to those results. It argues that accounting practice prescribed by the main standard setters is non‐neutral towards ‘successful’ and ‘unsuccessful’ bidders with respect to reporting the transaction costs of bidding. It shows how the prescribed accounting treatment of these costs affects performance measures used in salary contracts as well as in the markets for executives and for corporate control. The result is that the managers of bidding companies will have an ‘arti ?cial’ incentive to in ?ate their bid price or to go ahead with a bid which offers no bene ?t to their shareholders. Ironically, the main standard setters seem minded soon to prohibit the only accounting technique which does not distort these incentives.     

The twilight of the setter? Public school budgets in a time of institutional change

We use a policy change that occurred in Oregon in the late 1980s to re‐visit the budget‐maximizing agenda setter theory of local public expenditure. Prior to 1987, Oregon school districts held operating levy elections with an exogenous, often zero or very low, spending reversion. From 1987 through 1990, districts experienced a “safety net” regime where the reversion was at least the previous year's nominal spending. We find that the “safety net” sharply limited the agenda setter's ability to use the reversion as a threat to obtain voter approval of relatively large expenditures.     

The share of the global energy mix: Signs of convergence?

This paper investigates the convergence behaviour regarding the share of global energy mix, as measured by primary energy consumption. Recent studies that employ stationary tests of panel data suggest that such data support the convergence hypothesis; however, some drawbacks exist, as these studies rely on methods that do not necessarily imply a sufficient condition for convergence. This paper adopts the concept of relative convergence as proposed by Phillips and Sul (2007), which employs a time‐varying, idiosyncratic component. We choose to focus on various sources’ global primary energy consumption and investigate the long‐ run dynamic behaviour by source. The key finding of this paper is that two distinct clubs of convergence of energy can be determined: renewable and non‐renewable energy clubs of convergence.     

Declining Memberships During an Economic Downturn in U.S. Private Clubs

ABSTRACT

Surveys were sent to managers at one thousand private clubs, who were members of the Club Managers Association of America (CMAA) to determine what membership changes clubs have experienced during the economic downturn from 2000 to 2003. The majority of respondents managed country clubs, member-owned clubs, and represented different areas of the United States. An overall response rate of 50% was achieved. Most clubs experienced a decline in the overall number of members and a higher annual attrition rate. Fewer clubs reported having a waitlist of members wanting to join and the clubs having a waitlist reported a smaller number of individuals on the waitlist. The clubs without a waitlist reported a higher number of openings in their club. The results of this study suggest that clubs need to implement membership marketing strategies in order to increase the number of candidates for membership during economic downturns.     

A Comparison of Wage Determination in New South Wales and Queensland (Australian) Clubs

ABSTRACT

Australia's industrial relations framework has undergone substantial change since the 1990s. This has involved federal and state governments attempting to replace the centralised system, based on awards, to a decentralised system based on formalised enterprise and individual bargaining. The move to a decentralised system will supposedly, according to critics of the centralised system, provide significant improvements in flexibility, especially for the hospitality industry. This article examines the results from two studies of registered clubs, one undertakenin New South Wales (NSW)in 1996 and the other in Queensland in 2003, to examine the impact of regulatory changes on wage determination and associated variables in the sector. The findings indicate that despite the rhetoric of proponents of decentralisation, very few clubs have moved from the centralised system to the decentralised one. However, within the centralised system, clubs have undertaken a high level of informal bargaining, both in 1996 and 2003. Despite the level of informal bargaining club managers felt relatively restricted by awards and trade unions.     

皖江城市健身俱乐部指导员现状的调查

皖江城市健身俱乐部指导员队伍存在业务水平有限、报酬低、流动性大等问题,应采取完善管理机构,优化俱乐部健身环境,提高指导员的待遇等措施,促进健身俱乐部的健康发展。     

Web reviews influence on expectations and purchasing intentions of hotel potential customers

The objective of the paper is to study the impact that hotel guests reviews posted on consumer-generated websites have on the consumer decision-making process and service expectations.An experimental study has been conducted to test the hypotheses and the research question. 349 young adults were involved in an online survey that asked to imagine searching for a hotel and reading other customers’ reviews of a hypothetical chosen hotel. Three scenarios were created by studying a few comments posted by customers on the main websites used by tourists.Results show a positive correlation between both hotel purchasing intention and expectations of the customers and valence of the review. On the contrary, the presence of hotel managers’ responses to guests’ reviews has a negative impact on purchasing intentions.The study enriches the stream of research on word-of-mouth in the hospitality industry and analyses a new operational problem for lodging managers. Hotels should reply to online customer reviews or not?