The influence of supermarket attributes on perceived customer satisfaction: an East Asian study

Despite the proliferation of theoretical developments in the area of western consumer behaviour, to date the likelihood of Asian variants to existing consumer behavioural models has not been explored in any detail. Based on prior research in the field of retail attribute testing this empirical study investigates the influence of supermarket store attributes on Chinese (Macau) customer satisfaction moderated by the biographical factors of age and income. The results indicate that the store attributes of distance and speed of check out were significant for age, and that delivery service and price reductions were significant by income. Total independent variable rankings indicated store location, price and product variety were perceived by Chinese respondents as being the most important store attributes influencing satisfaction.     

Synchronization of Innovation and Vehicle Projects: Proposal of a Management Tool at Renault SAS

The success of a vehicle on the market depends on its price, reliability, and attractiveness; for the latter, innovations are the key elements in the differentiation from competitors. Managing the processes of selecting and integrating innovation projects into vehicle projects is therefore crucial. This article presents a management tool that aims at managing the interplay between innovation projects and vehicle projects. The objectives are to increase and optimize the amount and value of innovation projects integrated into vehicle projects. The tool, called “Profilor,” is based on the concept of intrusiveness, which is presented from a theoretical and empirical point of view.     

Does the option market produce superior forecasts of noise‐corrected volatility measures?

This paper assesses the robustness of the relative performance of spot‐ and options‐based volatility forecasts to the treatment of microstructure noise. Robustness of the results to the method of constructing option‐implied forecasts is also investigated. Using a test for superior predictive ability, model‐free implied volatility, which exploits information in the volatility ‘smile’, and at‐the‐money implied volatility, which does not, are both tested as benchmark forecasts of a range of alternative volatility proxies. The results provide compelling evidence against the model‐free forecast for three Dow Jones Industrial Average stocks, over a 2001–2006 evaluation period. In contrast, the at‐the‐money implied volatility forecast is given strong support for the three equities over this period. Neither benchmark is supported for the S&P500 index. Importantly, the main qualitative results are invariant to the method of noise correction used in measuring future volatility. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Ethical perceptions of Hong Kong Chinese business managers

This paper investigates ethical perceptions among Hong Kong Chinese managers of themselves and peers according to age, location of education and employment (local vs. multinational), based upon responses to thirteen potentially unethical situations.The major conclusions of the study are: (1) there is little consistency among perceptions of ethical situations; (2) Hong Kong managers perceive their peers as more unethical than themselves; (3) ethical perceptions in some situations are affected by age and to a lesser extent, place of education; and (4) significant interactions were found between age and the nature of employer, as well as between the place of education and the nature of employer.To conclude, the management implications of these findings are discussed.Miss McDonald has for the past five years been Assistant Professor of Marketing and Human Resource Management on the South East Asian postgraduate business programmes of the University of East Asia, Macau. Her commercial experience is in the fields of Advertising, Personnel Consultancy, and Industrial Relations.Dr. Zepp teaches Statistics and Operations Research at the University of East Asia. He was a lecturer at the Ohio State University (USA), where he received his doctorate. He spent 8 years in Africa, teaching at the University of Maiduguri (Nigeria), and the National University of Lesotho. He was an American Fulbright Professor at the Universite d'Abidjan (Ivory Coast), and a statistical consultant to the government of Haiti.     

Business Ethics: Practical Proposals for Organisations

A review of ethical literature demonstrates that the material presented to date is largely based upon theoretical and empirical research. While this information has contributory value, the information produced is largely observational rather than practical. Managers are anxious to receive assistance with the mechanisms by which ethics can be integrated into their organisations. Utilising the recent experience of the author with a large utility company in Asia committed to developing an ethical programme to enhance ethical awareness in their organisation, this paper intends to review current systems and procedures available to managers for integrating ethics into business. In addition to reviewing mechanisms for promoting an ethical climate, where appropriate, reference will be made to prior research and specific organisations where these practices have been used successfully. The paper concludes with a set of summary recommendations for managers embarking on the introduction of an ethical programme to their organisation.     

Bayesian comparison of several continuous time models of the Australian short rate

This paper provides an empirical analysis of a range of alternative single‐factor continuous time models for the Australian short‐term interest rate. The models are nested in a general single‐factor diffusion process for the short rate, with each alternative model indexed by the level effect parameter for the volatility. The inferential approach adopted is Bayesian, with estimation of the models proceeding through a Markov chain Monte Carlo simulation scheme. Discrimination between the alternative models is based on Bayes factors. A data augmentation approach is used to improve the accuracy of the discrete time approximation of the continuous time models. An empirical investigation is conducted using weekly observations on the Australian 90 day interest rate from January 1990 to July 2000. The Bayes factors indicate that the square root diffusion model has the highest posterior probability of all models considered.     

Common Myths about Business Ethics: Perspectives from Hong Kong

Being clear about the nature and demands of business ethics, particularly in the context of Hong Kong, means dispelling a number of popular myths. The author is Associate Professor of Management at the Asia International Open University, Matheson Centre, 3 Matheson Street, Hong Kong. She is also an Associate Editor of this Review.