Inter-Satisfaction between Website and Automated Call Distribution (ACD) Systems

Websites and an Automated Call Distribution (ACD) system in a call center are both considered important customer relationship technologies. Integrating concepts from information systems quality and trust transference theory, this paper introduces the concept of inter-satisfaction: the extent to which customer satisfaction with a website leads to satisfaction with an ACD and vice versa. It is hypothesized that dissatisfaction with either the website or the ACD influences potential brand-switching behaviors. A model, largely drawing upon concepts of user satisfaction as developed in information system research, is presented. The model is then tested using data from passengers using Low Cost Carriers (LCCs) in South Korea, specifically 366 passengers at the Jeju International Airport, who experienced both their airlines’ website and call center. A structural equation modeling analysis demonstrates that satisfaction with the website transfers to satisfaction with the ACD system, but not vice versa, and that only dissatisfaction with the website creates a brand-switching intention.     

Uncovering Dimensionality in the Servicescape: Towards Legibility

The type and level of service offered in the service sector is relatively homogenous, and notoriously difficult to distinguish. Company servicescapes are important differentiators and indicators of quality vis-à-vis image and competence. The paper develops an exploratory and conceptual framework that delineates the dimensions of service environments, emphasising those factors that can be successfully manipulated by management. Fieldwork examined a dynamic service environment and analysis revealed that the legibility of the setting (e.g., clear signage and spatial appearance) influenced peoples' moods generally. Analysis suggested that general layouts and legible signage help to induce positive moods, and therefore positive images of the service providers.     

中国的房价问题：现状、问题、成因及解决方向——现代社会是如何偏离“住者有其屋”这一理想的

当前国内房价的居高不下源于需求和供给两方面的因素:需求方面主要在于投机性需求和投资性需求,其中,投机性需求源于当前房地产市场化过程中的配套制度不健全,而投资性需求则根本上与收入差距的拉大密切相关;而供给方面则主要源于高地价和高利润的冲击,其中,高地价源于不合理的财政税收制度,高利润则根本上与不合理的土地资源占有关系有关。显然,要解决住房问题,也就要从上述四个方面着手。但不幸的是,现代主流经济学却基于伦理自然主义将这种现状合理化了,从而使得住者有其屋这一理想离现代社会越来越远。     

Ethnic Identity in Advertising: A Review and Meta-Analysis

The corpus of research on ethnic identity in advertising indicates that (1) ethnic identity influences commonly examined attitudinal and purchase-intention outcomes, and (2) attitudes toward both the actor(s)/model(s) and the ad moderate attitudes toward brands depicted in ethnically resonant ads. Individual studies often differ by measurement type (i.e., single-item measure versus multi-item scale), study design (i.e., experiment versus survey), and diversity of respondent sample. Seemingly, ethnic-identity effects are greater for studies that relied on single-item measures, experimental designs, and more diverse samples. Implications and future research directions are suggested.     

Regular Price $299; Pre-order Price $199: Price Promotion for a Pre-ordered Product and the Moderating Role of Temporal Orientation

Retailers typically use the strategy of providing a discount to induce the sale of a new product at a pre-order stage. Despite the prevalence of this strategy, providing discounts might not be effective for all consumers. The present research shows that the positive effect of a discount depends on consumer temporal orientation. Results from four experimental studies reveal that a large discount positively affects present-oriented, but not future-oriented, consumers. The findings suggest that perceived financial risk and perceived product quality sequentially mediate the effect of discount size on value toward the deal and purchase intention. A third-party product quality rating boosts quality perceptions, which in turn reduces perceived financial risk and positively enhances value toward the deal along with purchase intention. Our findings demonstrate that when the brand itself acts as a reliable signal of quality, a discount has its intended effect for both present- and future-oriented consumers. Overall, the findings of this research suggest that a retailer can use quality cues along with a discount, especially for a new brand, to appeal to the broadest group, as it will attract both future- and present-oriented consumers.     

中国的房价问题：现状、问题、成因及解决方向——现代社会是如何偏离“住者有其屋”这一理想的

当前国内房价的居高不下源于需求和供给两方面的因素：需求方面主要在于投机性需求和投资性需求，其中。投机性需求源于当前房地产市场化过程中的配套制度不健全，而投资性需求则根本上与收入差距的拉大密切相关；而供给方面则主要源于高地价和高利润的冲击，其中，高地价源于不合理的财政税收制度，高利润则根本上与不合理的土地资源占有关系有关。显然，要解决住房问题，也就要从上述四个方面着手。但不幸的是，现代主流经济学却基于伦理自然主义将这种现状合理化了，从而使得“住者有其屋”这一理想离现代社会越来越远。     

论服饰色彩的伦理思想价值探究

服饰色彩作为一定社会伦理的外部表现,以自己特有的物质形式表现着这些伦理观念,从而以一定文化符号的形式构建了服饰色彩伦理的道德内容和价值体系。服饰色彩的这种真假区分、善恶评价、美丑取舍内在的规定了服饰色彩伦理的价值内容,从而对人们的着装心理、着装习惯产生重大影响。     

Sports Marketing

Although text messaging as a communication tool in society is rampant, research on its effects within print advertisements is lacking. To help fill this void, we employ three between-subject experiments (i.e., Study 1: text message vs. no text message; Studies 2 and 3: text message vs. traditional language). We posit that using text message copy in print ads is a unique (as grounded in distinctiveness theory) and fitting (as grounded in communication trust theory) approach to commune with targeted viewers and, therefore, should lead to favorable advertising outcomes. The experimental results confirm this notion. For example, responses concerning ad novelty, attention toward the ad, attitude toward the ad, purchase intention, and perceived brand trust are more favorable toward the text message condition ads. Implications and directions for future text message-related research are discussed.     

Reasserting Institutionalist Insights on the Good Society: 30 Years After Petr’s Call for a Mixed Economy

In this research note, I revisit the issues raised by Jerry Petr (1987) in “The Nature and Necessity of the Mixed Economy.” The institutionalist mixed economy is still a sound model for the good society. However, Western industrialized countries have been losing ground on the goals of the mixed economy. The struggle to defend pragmatism over ideological attachment to neoliberalism, has evolved into a distributional struggle that cannot be resolved without institutional change.     

On the Asymmetric Recognition of Good and Bad News in France, Germany and the United Kingdom

We investigate whether accounting systems recognise bad news more promptly in earnings than good news, where news is proxied by changes in share price. The analysis is based on a sample of firm/years drawn from France, Germany, and the UK during 1990 to 1998. These three countries are the originators of three distinct legal traditions. Previous studies have argued that asymmetric recognition, one manifestation of conservative accounting, is sensitive to legal background and history. We find that in all three countries the contemporaneous association between earnings and returns is much stronger for bad news (i.e. when price changes are negative) than for good news, and although the results are strongest for the UK, and then France, the inter-country differences are not statistically significant. The stronger reaction to bad news is more pronounced for firms with relatively low capitalisation. We also find that the relative persistence of profits and losses are consistent with asymmetric recognition in France and the UK, but not in Germany, and that the more timely recognition of bad news is maintained even when we control for earnings persistence. When we extend the model to include price changes from previous periods, we see that the stronger reaction to bad news decays over time. The results from this model also suggest that 'pervasive' conservatism, unrelated to news, is observed in Germany and France, but the UK results are consistent with optimism. Although asymmetric recognition is generally strongest in the UK and weakest in Germany, and this broadly conforms to our expectations, the differences are less clear than the results from earlier periods.