Relative importance and combined effects of attributes on customer satisfaction

Customer satisfaction with a service experience is often determined by several critical attributes. Prior studies have suggested that food, physical environment, and employee service impose an important effect on diners' satisfaction with restaurant services. Although much research has looked at the direct effect of these attributes individually, little is known about them when they are considered together. This study investigates the relative importance and combined effects of the determinants of customer satisfaction in China's hospitality industry. The results show that food taste, employee service, and physical environment (in that order) all significantly contribute to diners' satisfaction, and that one attribute may substitute for another attribute in the satisfaction formation process. Generally, humanic attributes (employee service) can effectively substitute for less humanic attributes (physical environment).     

Environmental factors and satisfaction in a specialty store

Given the intense competition experienced in the sector, retailers have been designing strategies to create an environment conducive to consumer satisfaction and purchase, particularly in supermarkets and hypermarkets. This paper develops a conceptualization of customer satisfaction based on field data collected in a specialty store, focusing on the relative importance of the environmental factors on satisfaction. The results show that the most important environmental determinant of customer satisfaction is the variety of products. The help from employees, lighting, layout and design also stand out from the set of stimuli considered.     

Trade liberalization and the environment: The case of intra-industry trade

Abstract

While a large body of literature examines the environmental impact of trade on the environment, this discussion focuses largely on the context of inter-industry trade. Empirical evidence has long suggested that an increasing share of international trade takes the form of intra- rather than inter-industry trade. In an attempt to fill this gap, the present paper uses a price-setting duopoly model of intra-industry trade to highlight the environmental consequences of trade liberalization when oligopolistic rivalry rather than comparative advantage drives international trade. We find that the environmental impact of trade liberalization depends mostly on two factors, namely, on the nature of pollution (i.e. whether it is local, transboundary or global) and on which country liberalizes trade (i.e. whether it is the ‘clean’ country or the ‘dirty’ country).     

An Analysis of Household Beef Consumption of Japanese Expatriates in U.S.:

This paper uses a novel approach to investigate how food consumption in Japan may change as Japanese consumers become more westernised in their tastes and preferences for food. It is widely believed that as food prices in Japan fall to international levels and as Japanese consumers become more westernised in their taste and preferences for food, their meat consumption patterns, in particular, will approach those of western countries. The approach undertaken in this paper involves a comprehensive survey of Japanese expatriates in Los Angeles, California, regarding their food consumption habits. The findings are interesting as they shed some light on the changing nature of food consumption of accultured Japanese faced with competitive food prices. The results indicate that although household meat consumption of Japanese expatriates have changed, it remains debatable, however, that their food consumption habits will approach those of western consumers in the foreseeable future. The findings have important implications for food marketeers in Japan and elsewhere, particularly as further liberalisation of food import in that country gains momentum.     

城市化与生态环境相互作用系统脆弱性时空变化规律--以黑龙江省东部煤电化基地为例

本文分析了黑龙江省东部煤电化基地城市化与生态环境脆弱性之间的耦合关系,采用SPSS主成分分析的方法对城市化与生态环境脆弱性之间的时空规律进行分析,得出了黑龙江省东部煤电化基地各城市的综合得分,绘制出黑龙江省东部煤电化基地的时间脆弱性曲线和空间地域分布图,进一步分析了城市化对生态环境脆弱性的时间规律和空间规律,并得出了以下结论：（1）黑龙江省东部煤电化基地的各城市的脆弱性较高,但改善空间较大。（2）黑龙江省东部煤电化基地各城市的脆弱性地域差异较大,其中牡丹江的脆弱性较低。（3）黑龙江省东部煤电化基地各城市应以清洁生产、资源循环利用为主要的循环经济生产模式,大力发展旅游、对外贸易等绿色经济。     

南方离子型稀土矿的环境问题及生态重建途径

离子型稀土矿主要分布我国南方,含中、重稀土较多,具有很强的市场竞争力。但是在池浸、堆浸以及原地浸矿工艺开采过程中均出现了较严重的生态环境问题,对采矿废弃地进行人工生态重建是当前面临的紧迫任务。生态重建应从废弃地稳定化处理、土壤改良、生态系统的功能设计与植被的恢复等方面着手。环境工程开采模式、常态化环境监测以及相应政策与程序是生态重建的有力保障。     

耕地质量建设的生态与环境理念

耕地是人类赖以生存和发展的物质基础,要保障国家粮食安全,不仅要保护耕地的数量,耕地质量建设也尤为重要.该文阐明了耕地质量建设的含义,厘清了耕地质量与生态、环境的关系,指出耕地质量建设树立生态与环境理念的重要性和核心,总结了世界各国已经形成的三类耕地质量建设模式,提出了生态化和环境友好型耕地质量建设的建议.     

造纸企业的海洋环境行政法律责任探析

通过对造纸企业的"外部性"探讨,分析了沿海区域造纸企业违反海洋环境行政法律的行为动因,进一步探讨了造纸企业的海洋环境行政法律责任及其追究机制。文章认为明晰造纸企业的"外部性"是了解海洋环境污染的基础,并讨论了造纸企业对海洋环境侵害及其对环境侵害的行政法律责任,提出了防范和减少造纸企业对海洋环境污染的建议,还从现实和理论两个方面分析了造纸企业对海洋生态安全应承担的责任及其所面临的困难。     

Health and environmental impacts of pesticide use practices: a case study of farmers in Ekiti State,Nigeria

Commonly used pesticides and handling practices which might expose farmers and their environment to chemical hazards were investigated in the Irepodun/Ifelodun local government area of Ekiti State, Nigeria. Direct field observations and answers to a structured questionnaire from a random sample of 150 farming households showed that commonly used pesticides comprised herbicides (48.3 per cent), fungicides (28.2 per cent) and insecticides (23.5 per cent). Of these, 86.7 per cent are classified as ‘highly’ hazardous by the World Health Organization (WHO) and have been banned or restricted in many developed countries. Nearly all of the farmers (94.7 per cent) had received no formal training in safe pesticide use and mixed different products. Farmers suffered from discomforts ranging from eye irritation (91.3 per cent), skin problems (87.3 per cent), nausea (86.0 per cent), headache (83.3 per cent) and vomiting (58.0 per cent). More than half of the pesticide applicators (61.3 per cent) sprayed pesticides near water bodies. Only a few farmers reported decreasing trends in numbers of beneficial insects (27.3 per cent) and other animals (29.3 per cent). The results showed that the awareness of farmers and authorities needs to be raised regarding the use of protective equipment and correct procedures when handling pesticides and, also, that there should be stricter enforcement of existing pesticide regulation and monitoring policies to minimize the threats that the farmers' current practices pose to their health and to the environment.     

Information Complementarities and the Dynamics of Transparency Shock Spillovers

We show that information complementarities play an important role in the spillover of transparency shocks. We exploit the revelation of financial misconduct by S&P 500 firms, and in a “Stacked Difference-in-Differences” design, find that the implied cost of capital increases for “close” industry peers of the fraudulent firms relative to “distant” industry peers. The spillover effect is particularly strong when the close peers and the fraudulent firm share common analyst coverage and common institutional ownership, which have been shown to be powerful proxies for fundamental linkages and information complementarities. We provide evidence that increase in the cost of capital of peer firms is due, at least in part, to “beta shocks.” Disclosure by close peers—especially those with co-coverage and co-ownership links—also increases following fraud revelation. Although disclosure remains high in the following years, the cost of equity starts to decrease.