Explaining the aggregate price level with Keynes's principle of effective demand

The mainstream view of Keynes's principle of effective demand is that it states something about quantities—and about quantities only. The principle is held to determine the levels of output and employment in a world not governed by Say's law. This paper argues that the principle of effective demand goes beyond this to explain not only ‘real’ activity levels but also the aggregate price level. A variant of the post-Keynesian D/Z-model is brought together with Marxian reproduction schemes to derive this result.     

Regulating a Polluting Firm Under Asymmetric Information

This paper reinterprets the Laffont-Tirole model of regulation under asymmetric information to cover the case of pollution control. The asymmetry of information concerns the firm's cost of lowering its pollution. The regulator has three objectives: Ensuring an efficient abatement level, generating 'green taxes' and securing the survival of the firm. We show that when optimal abatement is important relative to tax generation, the regulator cannot use the policy of offering the firm a set of linear tax schemes from which to choose. By contrast, this policy is optimal in the Laffont-Tirole model under certain not very restrictive assumptions. We proceed to establish a simple rule for when to shut-down inefficient types. In an example with specific functional forms, we derive the optimal tax function both analytically and graphically. We show the effect on the optimal tax system of a change in a technological parameter.     

Influence of sustainable hospitality supply chain management on customers’ attitudes and behaviors

This study aims to identify the impact of the environmental, social and economic dimensions of sustainable hospitality supply chain management actions on customers’ attitudes and behaviors including satisfaction, loyalty and willingness to pay a premium for sustainable hospitality goods and services utilizing data collected from U.S. consumers who frequently stay at hotels. Findings suggest that while both environmental and economic dimensions’ actions of sustainable hospitality supply chain management have positive influences on customer satisfaction, loyalty and willingness to pay a premium for sustainable hospitality goods and services, the social dimension actions are found to have a positive influence on customer satisfaction and a negative influence on customer willingness to pay a premium. Results also indicate that customer satisfaction fully mediates the relationship between social dimension actions and customer loyalty. In addition, customer satisfaction positively influences customer loyalty, which ultimately increases customer willingness to pay a premium. The implications of the research findings are provided.     

Why customers won't relate: Obstacles to relationship marketing engagement

Due to the challenges associated with reaching consumers using traditional marketing approaches, firms increasingly rely on relational marketing tactics to increase customer patronage with the firm. Yet, consumers often actively avoid relational devices. Thus, firms have a heightened interest in factors that affect customer engagement in relationship marketing efforts. This research provides an empirical test of a model based on equity theory and previous findings regarding psychological engagement. The model predicts whether customers are willing to engage in different relational tactics offered by firms, measured by a formative, actionable Relationship Program Receptiveness (RPR) Index. The results indicate customer perceptions of the inconvenience and anticipated benefits, two factors controlled by the firm, affect RPR. In addition, customer factors, including general privacy concerns, involvement and shopping frequency, affect RPR. Managerially, the results suggest specific actions firms can take to increase the likelihood that consumers engage in relational marketing efforts.     

Loyalty programs,loyalty engagement and customer engagement with the company brand: Consumer-centric behavioral psychology insights from three industries

Firms make large investments in loyalty programs (LPs) to build customer relationships with customer loyalty as one of their primary goals. Despite the popularity of LPs, their effectiveness is questioned and the subject of academic debates in relation to outcomes such as profitability. Moreover, extant research has not investigated if customers engage with LPs through LP perceived value and how LP engagement improves LP loyalty, brand loyalty, and customer engagement (CE) with the company brand. This study examines, from a consumer-centric behavioral perspective, LP engagement (LPE) behavior, and how LPE behavior impacts brand and LP loyalty, as well as CE. We introduce LPE behavior, a relatively new concept, in the form of a multi-dimensional set of hierarchically-ordered dimensions. We show a differentiated view of the relationship between the antecedents of brand loyalty as well as LP loyalty and CE. External, convergent and discriminant validity are confirmed by testing our model with a representative sample (n = 593) of the U.S. LP population with participants being members of either a grocery retail chain, department store chain, or airline frequent flyer LP. We show that perceived LP value engages customers with LPs. Subsequently, LPE behavior improves LP loyalty and brand loyalty as well as CE with the company brand.     

Influencing factors of customer loyalty in mobile payment: A consumption value perspective and the role of alternative attractiveness

The rapid development of mobile payment has attracted many competitors and made customer retention a crucial issue for mobile payment service providers. This study examines the influencing factors of mobile payment loyalty from a multi-dimensional value perspective by extending and integrating the Cognitive-Affective-Behaviour (C-A-B) model and the Theory of Consumption Values (TCV). We also incorporate alternative attractiveness as a moderating variable to reveal the potential influence of the competitive market environment. This study collected 427 questionnaires from mobile payment users in China. The empirical study results show that customers’ loyalty is determined by satisfaction, and satisfaction is influenced by functional, emotional, epistemic, and monetary value. The findings also demonstrate that satisfaction has mediated the consumption values and loyalty relationship, and alternative attractiveness has weakened the influence of satisfaction on loyalty. This study shifts the focus in mobile payment research from adoption to the post-adoption stage and establishes a new research model by integrating two fundamental theories in explaining customer behaviour. Our study could guide mobile payment providers to cultivate customer satisfaction and loyalty by determining the values that are worth investing in their marketing strategies and help them notice and neutralise the weakening effect of competitor attractiveness.     

Modelling of customer retention in multi-format retailing

The objective of this study is to offer a model of the formation process of loyalty towards the services provided by retail food companies. Specifically, the case of a Spanish company, which is a leader in the retail food market is taken. The company operates using different retail formats, and it has customers with various levels of loyalty and behavioural patterns. The research tries to determine implications for managing the loyalty towards the company. Different customer groups are analysed. Four working hypotheses are proposed and contrasted through the formulation and estimation of two theoretical models or conceptual maps. After the empirical analysis, the proposed models show a good fit, and the formulated hypotheses are confirmed. By using this kind of modelling, the companies that operate under the considered framework may reach significant conclusions prior to making decisions in the area of customer retention.     

Investments in consumer relationships: a critical reassessment and model extension

This study is a critical reassessment and extension of De Wulf et al.'s (2001) framework investigating retail investments in consumer relationships. Their initial model relates four types of relationship marketing efforts to perceived relationship investment, in turn influencing relationship quality and ultimately behavioural loyalty. Based upon signalling theory, we extend this model by introducing product and service efforts as additional antecedents. Moreover, in contrast to the use of self-reported measures in the initial model, we apply customer database information in order to measure the construct of behavioural loyalty. Based upon 187 consumers reporting on their relationship with a Belgian apparel retailer, the SEM results provide guidelines for retailers how to increase the quality of their relationships with consumers by strengthening consumers' perceptions of relationship investment.     

Exploring the influence of customers' time horizon perspectives on the satisfaction–loyalty link

Anecdotal evidence suggests that older individuals behave more emotionally and less cognitively due to their decreasing biological, cognitive, and/or social abilities, or a combination thereof. However, in the psychology and aging literatures, recent research indicates that the sense of future time is a better predictor of consumer perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors than chronological age. Tying in with these research streams, this paper introduces individuals' future time perspective (FTP) as a moderator of the well-known satisfaction–loyalty relationship. More precisely, this paper demonstrates that FTP influences the satisfaction–loyalty relationship by (1) driving customer loyalty, and (2) moderating the relationship between these two constructs. Besides contributing an important concept to the business research literature, the findings provide evidence that explains the previous heterogeneous results of chronological age-related research. This concept allows for a more nuanced analysis of aging's impact on the perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors of consumers.     

Packaging-free products: A lever of proximity and loyalty between consumers and grocery stores

This research investigates the consequences for retailers and their stores of a new sustainable consumption trend—the purchase and consumption of bulk products. It examines the effects of offering packaging-free products on three subdimensions of perceived proximity (identity, process, and relational) and on transactional loyalty (satisfaction–loyalty) and relational loyalty (satisfaction–trust–loyalty). A total of 1407 buyers and consumers of bulk products at a convenience store (of a university cooperative style) filled out an online questionnaire. These consumers were then divided into three subgroups (convinced, pragmatic, and wary). This research empirically establishes that unpacked products are a strategic tool for retailers and their stores to create or strengthen the relationships established with their customers. Unpacked products and the proximity they create between a consumer and a store are the first link in the development or preservation of a relational chain between the consumer and the store. Moreover, the step reached by the consumer in his process of purchasing and consuming packaging-free products (from the discovery stage to the already well-established habit) has a direct impact on the relational chain built.