Materiality Judgments and Disclosure of Retiree Health Care Costs Under SFAS No. 81

Generally, researchers have difficulty empirically examining materiality judgments because amounts designated as immaterial are not disclosed. However, reporting requirements under SFAS No. 106 provide a unique opportunity to evaluate expense amounts designated immaterial under SFAS No. 81. We use the cumulative effect associated with the adoption of SFAS No. 106 to evaluate prior management materiality judgments. Univariate and logistic regression results suggest that the decision to disclose SFAS No. 81 costs is positively related to our measures of plan materiality. However, our results also suggest that voluntary disclosure factors may have influenced the disclosure decision.     

Perceived Marketplace Influence and Consumer Ethical Action

The present work presents two studies exploring the impact of perceived marketplace influence (PMI) on consumer decisions to engage in ethical marketplace action. Study 1 shows that PMI is associated with positive (negative) word‐of‐mouth in response to the ethical (unethical) actions of an organization. Study 2 shows that PMI is associated with the purchase of and willingness to pay for ethical products Fair Trade and philanthropy‐linked ethical products. Differences emerge between the two dimensions of PMI (PMI Consumer and PMI Organization) based on the hedonic or utilitarian features of the products. Results also show autonomous motivation to mediate the relationship between PMI and ethical intentions. We conclude with discussion of the implications of PMI for policy and consumer well‐being.     

How Small Is Too Small? Firm Size as a Barrier to Exporting from the United States

The purpose of this paper is ask whether there is a minimum size that firms must achieve to take advantage of the benefits of exporting from the United States. An analysis of 2,822 firms in 49 different industries in South Carolina, a rapidly growing export–driven state, was conducted to address this question. This paper builds on the contributions of previous research in the areas of small to medium–sized enterprises (SMEs) and export success and SMEs in the export development process. Analysis of manufacturing exports from South Carolina indicates that firm size serves as a necessary as well as a sufficient condition for export success among small manufacturing firms. Reasons for this are discussed, and implications for managers and policymakers are offered.     

Economics,psychology, and the literature of the subdiscipline of consumer behavior

This paper traces the development of the subdiscipline of marketing known as “consumer behavior” and its literature which grew during the 1950s and 1960s and at an increasing rate during the 1970s. In spite of marketing's roots in economics, it cam to rely more heavily on psychology as a source for conceptual borrowing. It is suggested that this may have resulted from greater congruity between marketing scholars and psychologists with respect to research purposes and philosophies of science.     

Changing the marketplace one behavior at a time: Perceived marketplace influence and sustainable consumption

This study introduces the construct of Perceived Marketplace Influence (PMI) and investigates its role in mediating the relationship between environmental concern and sustainable consumption behavior. A nationwide survey shows that Perceived Marketplace Influence plays an important role in mediating the relationship between concern and behavior, providing an explanation for prior inconsistencies in this relationship. Accordingly, Perceived Marketplace Influence plays a purposeful role in transforming environmental concern into behavior. This project extends previous research on the relationship between values, beliefs, and behavior by showing that one's perception of influence on the marketplace behavior of others significantly influences one's own marketplace behavior. Improved understanding of this relationship provides updated guidance to firms and policymakers for projecting and encouraging sustainable consumption behavior.     

Coupons and private labels: A cross-category analysis of grocery products

This article examines the influence of coupons on private label shares of grocery products. The impact of national brand and private label coupons, distributed by manufacturers and retailers, is examined. A consumer framework and a typology of coupon effects are developed to explain different types of coupon usage behavior. Aggregate scanner panel data on 480 product categories are used in the analysis. Both the type of coupon and the method of distribution (by manufacturer or by retailer) are found to be important determinants of private label share response. Couponing activities by the national brand manufacturer are negatively related to private label share, thus indicating that they may be effective deterrents of private label penetration. However, couponing activities related to private labels do not help increase private label shares. The surprising finding is that national brand store couponing activity is positively related to private label share.     

Academic achievement by graduates from for-profit and nonprofit institutions: Evidence from CPA exam performance

This study shows that graduates from nonprofit educational institutions outperform graduates from for-profit institutions on the four sections of the certified public accountant (CPA) exam. Specifically, it (1) documents univariate differences in CPA exam scores, score distributions, pass rates, and time to complete the CPA exam; (2) investigates the differences in a multivariate context; and (3) examines the robustness of the results to various levels of control for student differences.     

Intellectual Property-Management und Marketing

Die Bedeutung des geistigen Eigentums für das Unternehmensverm?gen nimmt stetig zu. Marken, Patente oder Urheberrechte entfalten ihre Wirkung jedoch nicht nur durch den Schutz des Staates, sondern insbesondere durch ihre Wahrnehmung seitens der Bezugsgruppen des Unternehmens. Dieser Beitrag zeigt Zusammenh?nge zwischen Intellectual Property (IP), Unternehmenskommunikation und Marketing auf und zeigt, wie diese Vernetzung in Wettbewerbsvorteile umgemünzt werden kann.     

Employers' accounting for pensions: A theoretical approach to financial accounting standards no. 87

The extensive disclosure mandated for defined benefit pension plans by FAS 87 resulted in part from the ongoing controversy concerning the nature of the pension plan obligation. Based on a review of the pension chapters of seven intermediate accounting texts, conflicting perspectives of the nature of the plan obligation have not been thoroughly and appropriately integrated in textbook discussions of FAS 87 reporting requirements.The objective of this article is to present a teaching method which interprets the reporting requirements of FAS 87 as a reconciliation of the conflicting perspectives concerning the pension obligations. Examples are provided demonstrating how FAS 87 reconciles the opposing perspectives in the basic financial statement presentation, and how the perspectives are useful in understanding the reporting requirements related to the minimum liability and actuarial gains and losses.