Influence of salesperson characteristics and customer emotion on retail dyadic relationships

Retail salespeople often serve as a critical nexus between retailers and their customers. Salespeople can provide information and service that assist customers during the purchase process. Through buye–seller interaction, salespeople conceivably will influence how customers feel when shopping; in essence, salespersons are likely to have an impact on customers' emotions. Prior research has found that customer emotions have beneficial effects for both the store and the salesperson. Although previous work has considered the effect store environment has on customer emotions, no extant research has examined how customer emotions emerge after interacting with salespeople or what the outcomes of those emotions are. Consequently, this paper examines potential precursors of customers' emotions that arise during interaction with retail sales personnel, as well as consequences of those emotions. A conceptual framework is developed, propositions are posited, and retail management and research implications are presented.     

Supplier-Retailer Relationships in the UK Fresh Produce Supply Chain

Abstract

Over the past decade, the UK fresh produce (fruit, vegetables, and salads) supply chain has undergone numerous changes, with retailers becoming increasingly powerful. The overall trend is towards the industry being dominated by a few large corporations operating on a national level, with some corporations even operating on a European or global scale. This process, which could significantly impact on the supplierretailer relationships, is examined in this study using indepth interviews with participants from the fresh produce supply chain. Amongst the findings are the following: Supply chain advancements, including backhauling, and factory gate pricing are causing some controversy because suppliers feel that these initiatives do not benefit their relationships with retailers. There is room for supplierretailer relationship improvement in areas such as trust, co-operation, and collaboration. Retailers, who have significant supply chain power, are starting to acknowledge the importance of suppliers in the gaining of gaining retail market share. Lastly, the intense process of supplychain rationalisation that we have seen in recent years appears to be leveling out in the UK fresh produce supply, such that there is less anticipated further rationalisation. The study outlines a series of recommendations for how suppliers (retailers) can improve their relationships with retailers (suppliers).     

我国教育投入与经济增长的非线性协整关系研究

我国教育投入与经济增长之间不仅存在双向Granger因果关系还存在非线性协整关系。当对均衡的偏离小于或等于门限值0.132时,教育投入与经济增长倾向于不向均衡状态调整,而当对均衡的偏移大于门限值0.132时,二者都倾向于向均衡状态调整,且教育投入的调整速度大于经济增长的调整速度。     

Nonlinear Capital Flow Tax: Capital Flow Management and Financial Crisis Prevention in China

How to promote capital account liberalization while preventing financial crises is a challenging task for policymakers. This study proposes a nonlinear (progressive) capital flow tax as a solution. We first demonstrate that the collateral requirement of international borrowing can give rise to multiple equilibria and self‐fulfilling financial crises. We then show that the crisis equilibrium characterized by large exchange rate depreciation, capital flight and welfare loss can be eliminated by imposing a nonlinear (progressive) tax scheme on capital outflows with the marginal tax rate increasing with the size of individual capital outflows. The implementation of such a tax scheme in China is also discussed.     

Contingent effects of close relationships with suppliers upon independent restaurant product development: A social capital perspective

Despite recommendations that the restaurant industry more readily engage suppliers within their operations in order to expand capabilities, associations with restaurant business performance and supplier relationships remain unexplored in today’s current restaurant literature. This study assessed restaurant-supplier relationships from the social capital perspective and evaluated roles social capital played in product enhancement and new product development within the independent restaurant context. Results demonstrated that independent restaurant product enhancement was positively and linearly associated with social capital derived from restaurant-supplier relationships. Results also found that building social capital within restaurant-supplier relationships positively influenced new product development, but when taken to an extreme, it exhibited a negative association through an inverted curvilinear effect. Results provide new insights for future research and practice regarding independent restaurant supply management practices.     

Relationship Quality and Performance Outcomes: Achieving a Sustainable Competitive Advantage

As firms strive to develop a sustainable competitive advantage, the relationships formed among supply chain parties become a critical consideration. Firms seek to establish relationships that can provide the desired level of performance and competitiveness. Relationship quality provides a global measure of buyer–supplier relationships and can be used to assess the types of relationships a firm has within its supply chain. This research examines the impact of relationship quality on supply chain operational performance and satisfaction with strategic performance while considering both buyer and supplier perspectives and collaborative and arm’s length types of relationships.     

Personality differences and buyer-supplier relationships: Psychopathy in executives,gender differences and implications for future research

The buyer-supplier relationships (BSRs) literature to date has neglected the implications of individual personality differences amongst the parties to any relationship, thereby ignoring the complex dynamics of human interaction and behaviors on the progress and performance in such relationships. This Notes & Debates paper takes the view that personality matters, particularly toxic personality traits, and argues that for purchasing & supply researchers a cross-disciplinary approach to the study of BSRs will advance our understanding. Our study brought together psychology and supply management researchers.We begin by arguing that much of the extant literature demotes behavior and personality to peripheral, exogenous, or even irrelevant to the study of BSRs. Second, by focusing on the emergent research into corporate psychopathy, we explore one specific aspect of individual personality differences – psychopathic personality disorder. Third, we present our findings from a study of psychopathy in two executive samples, one consisting of exclusively procurement executives, to illustrate some of the personality traits likely to prevail within BSRs.Key to our argument, we found significant individual differences across our samples. Indeed, the incidence of psychopathic traits was higher than reported in the few prior studies of corporate psychopathy. We also found significant gender differences, marked not only by slightly higher levels of psychopathy in males than females, but by differences in the disposition of psychopathy. We also found that the relationship between psychopathy and seniority was significant, indicative of a relationship between executive status and potentially toxic behaviors.Future studies of BSRs thus need to recognize and account for individual differences in BSRs; such differences are not inconsequential.     

Bank Lending Standards and Access to Lines of Credit

This paper examines how changes in bank lending standards are related to the availability of bank lines of credit for private and comparable public firms. Overall, we find that access to lines of credit is more contingent on bank lending standards for private than for public firms. The impact of bank lending standards is however asymmetric: while private firms are less likely than public firms to gain access to new lines when credit market conditions are tight, we find no difference between public and private firms in terms of their use or retention of pre‐existing lines. We also find that private firms without lines of credit use more trade credit when bank lending standards are tight, which is suggestive of a supply effect. Overall, the evidence suggests that “credit crunches” are likely to have a disproportionate impact on private firms. However, pre‐existing banking relationships appear to mitigate the impact of these contractions on private firms.     

U.S.-Based Fast-Food Restaurants: Factors Influencing the International Expansion of Franchise Systems

Studies of international franchising are scant but increasing and can be divided into two streams of research: those focusing on environmental predictors of internationalization and those focusing on strategic, firm-level characteristics. Examining the latter category, this study empirically explores a set of firm-level attributes as predictors of decision making on whether firms seek international expansion. Using longitudinal data from Bond's Franchise Guide 2001–2008, we draw on a sample of U.S.-based fast-food franchise systems to test our hypotheses. Specifically, our database is composed of 1,058 observations of 158 chains, and we estimate a semi-parametric logistic model for international franchising. The model contributes to the literature by being the first to examine the nonlinearity of international franchising determinants using agency theory. The results show that (a) bonding, (b) the percentage of franchised units, (c) the number of states within which the system operates, and (d) the provision of area development agreements and sub-franchising significantly contribute to the international expansion of U.S.-based fast-food franchisors.     

浅谈学生干部应具备的基本素质

素质是指事物固有的性质和特点.素质有广义狭义之分.广义的素质指的是人所具有的思想、品德、知识、能力、情感、意志、风度等的全称.它是在一个人先天基础上,通过后天的实践的基本特征.它体现一个人的整体面貌,是发展自己、实现自身价值的基本条件,同时,它又具有很强的可塑性,总是随着社会实践发展而发生变化.不少同学进入大学后都希望担任学生干部,因为这是全面培养和锻炼自己能力的极好机会.