Differences in consumer perceptions of similarity and dissimilarity

Researchers have usually treated similarity ratings as the simple inverse of dissimilarity ratings. Tversky's theory of perception of similarity and dissimilarity (1977), however, explicitly recognizes that the attributes used in the perception of similarity and the attributes used in the perception of dissimilarity are decidedly different. In fact, the weights assigned to common and distinctive features changes according to the task at hand (i.e., when similarity is to be rated the common features are weighted more, and when dissimilarity is to be rated the distinctive features are weighted more). This study demonstrates these differences in a judgment task of rating similarity and dissimilarity on the basis of data that is external to the subjects.     

Identifying and addressing fundraising's overarching ethical questions through ethical theory

Purpose

This paper seeks to build on MacQuilllin and Sargeant's (2019) framework for normative fundraising ethics by considering how fundraising professionals might use these theories to support their fundraising practice. In the paper we will seek to identify the higher-level ethical questions that underpin the majority of ethical decisions fundraisers will need to make: decisions around the acceptance and solicitation of donations and we will then seek to address each of these questions through the lens of MacQuilllin and Sargeant's (2019) normative ethical theories.

Approach and methodology

We will abstract from common ethical dilemmas the higher-level or overarching questions that can encompass them. We will then consider each question through the lens of the normative theories developed by MacQuillin and Sargeant (2019), drawing on available evidence to support our arguments.

Findings

Two core questions were identified: 1. Where are the lines in who we approach for/receive resources from for our organisation ? 2. Where are the lines in how we approach people for resources for our organisation?

Originality

To our knowledge, this will be the first academic paper that a) identifies the overarching ethical questions that affect fundraising practice, and b) applies the various normative theories of fundraising ethics directly to them. In practical terms, it may also be particularly useful to fundraising practitioners who want to explore the theories of ethics in relation to the dilemmas they encounter in practice.     

Is the future static or dynamic? The role of culture on escalation of commitment in new product development

Escalation of commitment in new product development has been studied extensively for the last four decades but the impact of culture on the escalation phenomenon remains largely unexplored. This study investigates how culture impacts the decision to escalate or deescalate commitment to new products. Americans are analytic thinkers whereas Chinese tend to be holistic thinkers. When it comes to decision making, analytic thinkers focus on field independent and abstract factors and believe that future is linear and static, whereas holistic thinkers focus more on contextual factors and believe that future is dynamic and nonlinear. Hence, Chinese are more likely to escalate their commitment relative to Americans on receiving a negative performance report in the new product development process. A lab experiment using weekend MBA students and managers was used to test this underlying hypothesis. The findings confirmed that analytical thinkers use fewer factors than holistic thinkers in making new product decisions, and that Chinese managers are more likely to escalate their commitment relative to American managers. The decision to escalate or de-escalate was moderated by perceived product innovativeness.     

Concrete thinking or ideographic language: which is the reason for Chinese people's higher imagery‐generation abilities?

In this study, we attempted to separate the effects of culture and language on imagery generation. By asking subjects from China, Singapore and the US to read Chinese and/or English messages, we found that culture, as opposed to language of the message, drives Chinese people's imagery‐generation capabilities. Indeed, people from mainland China generated more images than both Singaporean Chinese people and Americans, even when tested in English. This is because their dominant way of thinking is concrete. Bilingual Singaporean Chinese subjects generated the same number of images when exposed to English and Chinese stimuli because they are equally adept at abstract and concrete thinking. However, their imagery‐generation ability could be manipulated by priming abstract or concrete thinking.     

Narratives of technology consumption in the face of marketplace discrimination

This study presents a phenomenological inquiry into the lived experiences of discriminated consumers to understand how they liberate themselves from offline marketplace discrimination. We explore the critical role that information technology plays to facilitate this process, revealing how discriminated consumers use technology to prepare for battle offline, temporarily seek refuge online, and withdraw permanently online. Our findings have implications to the technology consumption literature by highlighting how discriminated consumers may adopt technological consumption practices that allow them to successfully navigate the marketplace.     

Role of product entry and exit on the attraction effect

The attraction effect illustrates a violation of the regularity assumption in consumer choice. This effect increases the share of a target brand, relative to a competitor, when a third alternative is added to the choice set such that the target dominates the third alternative completely but the competitor does not. The effect has important marketing implications for design and presentation of choice sets to consumers. This paper studies the influence of sequential product entry and exit on the attraction effect; specifically, it focuses on the differences among simultaneous entry, delayed product entry, and product exit. Using two experiments, the paper shows that even sequential actions, such as entry or exit of products, predictably produce the attraction effect.     

Stock market and investment: the signalling role of the market

The evidence in this paper suggests that the q-theory of investment is not adequate to explain capital expenditure decisions at the firm level. Managerial as well as market perception is important, with the former more critical than the latter. The results also suggest that stock market activity has only limited implications for the resource allocation process in the economy. The evidence for the q-theory, based on firm-level data, confirms the previous finding in the literature that the poor empirical performance of the model in the past has been due in part to the use of aggregate data at the economy level. These findings have important implications for the debate in the literature regarding the relationship between shareholder myopia and managerial myopia. There is a notion in the literature that the stock market puts too much pressure on managers, who in turn indulge in myopic behaviour by underinvesting for the long-term, especially by way of R and D expenditures. The results presented here suggest that, given the limited role that market perception elements play in the determination of capital expenditures at the firm-level, shareholder myopia is unlikely to lead to managerial myopia.     

A multi-attribute diffusion model for forecasting the adoption of investment alternatives for consumers

This article develops a diffusion model that incorporates potential adopters' perceptions of the relevant innovation attributes in explaining the rate of adoption of an innovation. Data from 14 investment alternatives currently available to consumers are used to develop a multi-attribute diffusion model for forecasting the acceptance of a potential investment alternative. Limitations and further extensions of the proposed model are also discussed.     

Hispanic coupon usage: The impact of strong and weak ethnic identification

The fragmentation of mass markets and its economic importance has dramatically increased the need to better target and understand ethnic markets. This article argues that the strength of ethnic identification, which measures the strength to which a person feels tied to the culture of origin, is a key variable in understanding the impact of ethnicity on responses to marketing mixes. The major hypothesis driving this study therefore states that, when the strength of ethnic identification is high, the ethnic consumer will respond to marketing the way their parents' culture does. This study analyzes Hispanic consumers and demonstrates that Weak Hispanic identifiers are quite different from Strong Hispanic identifiers in their coupon usage, and that Weak Hispanic identifiers are more like the dominant culture. Specifically, this study shows that cultural reasons may overshadow economic reasons in explaining coupon usage and brand loyalty.     

A Model of the Convenience Yields in On-the-Run Treasuries

The convenience yield differential between on- and off-the-run Treasury securities with identical maturities has two components. A non-cyclical component may arise due to the higher illiquidity of off-the-run bonds. Also, trading in the market for the next issue often causes cyclical shortages of the on-the-runs. When this occurs, owners of the on-the-run bond can earn riskless profits by borrowing at a special repo rate while lending at the prevailing risk free market rate. This second component of the convenience yield, induced by the auction, is cyclical. We first show that special repo rates and the convenience yield are jointly cyclical over the auction cycle. The patterns are statistically significant and pervasive. Repo specials are highest around the announcement day and disappear by the issue day. The off- minus on-the-run yield spread is highest at the beginning of the cycle and collapses near its end, consistent with a decreasing present value of profits over a decreasing horizon. Second, we develop a first no-arbitrage continuous-time model, with both interest and special repo rates stochastic, that prices the on-the-run bonds that command this convenience yield. A simple implementation of the model can generate yields consistent with the evidence.