Does conspicuous decoration style influence customer's intention to purchase? The moderating effect of CSR practices

Using an experimental research design, this study examines the main effect of conspicuous hotel decoration style on consumer purchase intention, and tests the moderating role of corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices and the mediating role of image perception on the relationship between conspicuous decoration style and purchase intention with Chinese consumers. The results indicate that decoration style had a critical role in explaining Chinese customers’ purchase intention. Specifically, a low conspicuous decoration style led to stronger customer purchase intention than did a high conspicuous decoration style. The relationship between conspicuous decoration style and customer purchase intention was found to be fully mediated by image perception. The findings emphasize the significance of CSR in influencing Chinese customers’ purchase intention with hotels of a highly-conspicuous decoration style. Externally oriented CSR practices (i.e., corporate philanthropy, environmental protection) were found to be more significant in moderating the relationship between conspicuous decoration style and purchase intention than internally oriented CSR practice (i.e., employee treatment). Hotels engaging in philanthropy and environmental protection, can not only elicit a positive response from consumers, but also help mitigate the risks of a loss of organizational legitimacy as a result of high conspicuous decoration.     

组织变革认知、转业辅导、生涯发展与人力运用关系之研究——以台糖公司为例

为适应多元环境的变化，公营事业转民营已成为一种市场趋势，而变革亦成为公营企业面对民营化情势的一种手段。当组织进行变革时，除应顾及组织业务发展外，亦应提供转业辅导，协助员工重新规划生涯发展方向，以期能有效运用或开发现有人力素质。本研究以台糖公司参加第二专长转业进修班的员工为研究对象，探讨组织变革认知、转业辅导、员工生涯发展与人力运用之间的关系。共回收有效问卷93份，研究结果发现：1．组织变革认知之“改隶成效”对转业辅导之“新知能学习”有显著影响；组织变革认知之“裁撤标准建立”对转业辅导之“训练课程设计”有显著影响。2．转业辅导之“新知能学习”对员工生涯发展之“生涯路径规划”和“生涯信息提供”有显著影响。3．转业辅导之“新知能学习”对人力运用之“人力重置与报偿”有显著影响；转业辅导之“参训动机”对人力运用之“修正绩效评估方案”有显著影响。4．组织变革认知之“裁撤标准建立”对员工生涯发展之“生涯路径规划”与“生涯信息提供”有显著影响。5．组织变革认知之“改隶成效”对人力运用之“人力重置与报偿”有显著影响；组织变革认知之“裁撤标准建立”对人力运用之“修正绩效评估方案”有显著影响。     

The End of Corporate Social Responsibility: Crisis & Critique,by Peter Fleming and Marc T. Jones

ABSTRACT

Purpose: Given the ever-increasing pressure put on sales organizations to improve performance, behave ethically and establish long-term customer relationships, this study seeks to better comprehend ethical leadership’s part in doing so. It proposes that perceived ethical leadership indirectly influences salesperson performance through trust in manager and ethical ambiguity.

Methodology/Approach: A survey of business-to-business salespeople was taken. Hypotheses are tested using structural equation modeling.

Findings: The results show that perceived ethical leadership influences salesperson performance through the mediating roles of trust in manager and ethical ambiguity. Salespeople’s perceptions of their supervisor’s ethical leadership behaviors positively impact their trust in manager and negatively influences their ethical ambiguity. In turn, trust in manager positively influences sales performance while ethical ambiguity negatively influences sales performance.

Research Implications: The results from testing the hypothesized model support mechanisms by which ethical leadership behavior may affect business-to-business salesperson job performance. It appears that ethical leadership works through ethical ambiguity and trust in manager to impact salesperson behavior performance, rather than directly impacting salesperson performance. Importantly the findings add to the literature an important consequence of ethical leadership, ethical ambiguity. This research likewise adds to the literature on role, and more specifically ethical, ambiguity by finding that reducing salesperson ethical ambiguity has a positive impact on salesperson behavior performance.

Practical Implications: This study finds that one important mechanism for reducing ethical ambiguity is for sales supervisors to practice ethical leadership. By reducing ethical ambiguity, sales managers can improve business-to-business salesperson performance. In addition, use of ethical leadership by sales managers can positively influence the business-to-business salesperson’s trust in manager, which subsequently leads to greater sales performance.

Originality/Value/Contribution: The results of this study add to our knowledge of ethical leadership by further developing its consequences. It also sheds light on a vastly under-researched construct, ethical ambiguity. Finally, it further validates the important role that trust in manager plays in the organization.     

经济型酒店感知服务质量分析与品牌差异比较

关注顾客是企业提升服务质量和塑造品牌的基础。经济型酒店通过对顾客感知进行深入分析,可更好地理解该行业的服务质量和不同服务质量因子的地位,并有针对性地进行改善。同时,通过对服务质量的深入定量分析,经济型酒店也可有效避免定位模糊而产生的同质化,确定并强化自身品牌的定位和特色。     

我国大城市80后生育观的调查研究——基于杭州市的数据

调整人口政策,平衡人口结构对于现阶段全面做好人口工作具有十分重要的意义。文章首先简要的对生育观文献进行了述评,进而在此基础上运用问卷调查的方法分析了杭州市80后的生育观现象,主要表现为杭州市80后都有生儿育女的观念、孩子的数量为一至两个、女性偏好略大于男性、生育的动机主要为满足亲子感情及家庭完整等高层次的精神需要、晚婚晚育普遍等方面。最后上升到更宏观的角度,从整个国家的视角为我国经济发达的大城市的生育政策调整提出政策建议,主要有继续坚持实行计划生育基本国策不动摇;从人们的经济条件和生活质量方面影响人们的生育行为;鼓励大城市推行适度的"开放二胎"政策;完善并加大对计划生育家庭的扶助制度,以期能为政府相关部门建言献策。     

LACK OF RIGOUR IN DEFENDING FAIRTRADE: A REPLY TO ALASTAIR SMITH

Alastair Smith (2009 ) claims to refute a few criticisms of Fairtrade. It is shown that his empirical evidence consists of anecdotes with no statistical or other evidential value, and that his economics is wrong. Though Fairtrade is an agricultural marketing system, he appears not to be aware of the literature on agricultural marketing or co‐operatives. Accordingly he makes statements not in accord with the accepted theory or evidence. He assumes, for instance, backward‐sloping supply curves and that the prices offered by state marketing boards are not affected by markets. There are ethical trading alternatives which avoid all the criticisms of Fairtrade.     

Business Ethics and Accounting Information. An Analysis of the Spanish Code of Best Practice

The main purpose of this article is to analyse one aspect of Spanish business ethics: the role of the transparency and quality of the economic and financial information given to meet the demands and requirements of shareholders. To that end we concentrate firstly on analysing the Spanish capital market and the situation of shareholders prior to the publication in February 1988 of the Code of Best Practice for Spanish Companies, drawn up by a Special Committee created at the request of the Ministry of Economy and Finance. We analyse the importance of the behaviour and actions of three groups which are fundamental to assuring quality and transparency of information: those who prepare financial statements, the Board of Directors (particularly the Audit Committee) and the external auditors. Finally, we look at the possible consequences of the Code of Best Practice on Spanish business ethics.     

组织认同受传统文化影响吗?——中国员工认同感知途径分析

This paper explores the information perception channels of organizational identification (OID) in the context of Chinese traditional culture. Drawing on the grounded theory, the authors conducted a survey on employees in Shandong, Henan, Beijing, Guangzhou, Gansu, Jiangsu and Taiwan, and developed a five-factor scale for information perception channels of OID consisting of leader modeling, consideration for subordinates, external encouragement, rationalizing norms and rules, and behavioral consistency. Results of regression analysis show that all of these five factors have significant effects on employees’ OID, particularly the factors of external encouragement, behavioral consistency, and consideration for subordinates. Translated and revised from Zhongguo Gongye Jingji 中国工业经济 (China Industrial Economics), 2008, (6): 118–126     

Who are ‘managing’ the lawyers in China? Control and commitment in an evolving institutional and cultural context and gendered implications

National legal systems are distinctive with strong institutional legacies and societal contexts. Research on the lawyers' work and their operating environment in China has been limited. This study fills part of this gap by investigating the nature of work and career prospect, with gendered implications, in six Chinese law firms. We argue that the lack of commitment to each other between the employer and the lawyers is a result of the governance structure, culture and business process of the law firms, societal norms, market pressure and the active involvement of other stakeholders. The political, economic, social and physical insecurity that engulfs lawyers' work environment undermines their ability to uphold justice for the weak, standards of the profession and ethical values of the society. The study has implications for western law firms operating in China as well as for Chinese law firms that intend to internationalize as part of an emerging trend of Chinese professional services firms. It also has broader implications for human resource management of professional services organizations in China.     

From Impartial Advocates to Political Agents: Role Switching and Trustworthiness in Consultancy

Consultancy firms inform, advise, implement and mediate in their own interests and in the interests of their clients. We can only guess if their work is also in the interest of the public. There is no critical and systematical assessment of the behavior of consultancy firms. What roles do consultancy firms chose? And what arguments do they use? In the nineties the international consultancy firm Hill &; Knowlton took on two assignments that showed a remarkable difference in the required role the firm had to play. In the first role the firm acted as an impartial advocate, in the second role the firm acted as a political agent. An analysis of the argumentation for both roles shows us the familair short-sighted choice for the annual turnover at the cost of internal and external trustworthiness. In this decade consultancy firms will need to develop ethical assessments that meet more professional standards.