Consumer Protection in Electronic Commerce: Some Remarks on the Jordanian Electronic Transactions Law

It has become increasingly certain that the success of e-commerce in any country depends mainly on the predictability and suitability of the legal framework and whether such framework copes sensibly with the needs of online consumers. For e-commerce to reach its full potential, consumers must have effective protection when shopping online, and their primary rights must be adequately protected. This paper thus explores the way in which the Electronic Transactions Law deals with such rights and determine whether or not this law gives due attention to consumer protection in an online environment. Furthermore, this paper encourages debate of what such law should be in order to enhance legal certainty as well as increase trust in e-commerce in Jordan. This paper, however, is not intended to provide the final answer to all questions and challenges in this regard, but to identify the main components, and provide perspectives on how to deal with such issue.     

Typologies of Banner Advertisements’ Attributes: A Content Analysis

The web has received significant amount of attention from advertising and consumer researchers investigating the impact of banner advertisement on consumers’ psychological and behavioral responses. However, no typology of banner advertisement has been identified yet, and the selection of banner advertisements as advertising stimuli has been carried out on the premise of personal judgment rather than scientific methodology. The identification of typology is important because different banner advertisement, such as static and pop-up, elicit different consumers’ responses. In addition the identification of a typology constitutes an advance to mid-range theory in a research domain. Hence, the purpose of this research is to identify the typologies of banner advertisements’ attributes such as type, number, shape, location, and size using content analysis. Specifically, nine banner advertisement types are identified as well as the typology of number, shape, location, and size of banner advertisements. Contributions of the research are discussed.     

Risk factors and geographical heterogeneity in unintentional home injuries incidence rate: new evidence based on Multiscopo survey in Italy

Home injuries together, with road traffic accidents, are estimated to be the third cause of death in Italy (Arokiasamy and Krishnan 1994). However, as in most other countries, in Italy there is a lack of information on home injuries and on how differences in geographical patterns may influence the scope and magnitude of this phenomenon. By analysing a multipurpose large survey (Multiscopo) carried out annually, geographical heterogeneity in home injuries incidence rate can be investigated. The aim of this study is the assessment of possible differences in geographical patterns among the Italian regions making use of a re-analysis of Multiscopo home injury data. The study results show that Italian regions differ greatly in the number of home injuries. The geographical heterogeneity may be due to the unemployment rate and the incidence of poverty that is greater in the Southern and Insular regions than in other zones. Other socio-economic variables such as alcohol consumption can increase the risk of injury in the home. To prevent them it could be useful to organize campaigns aimed at increasing the awareness among people about this problem.     

Wealth effects of convertible-bond and warrant-bond offerings: a meta-analysis

The literature on wealth effects associated with the announcements of convertible-bond and warrant-bond offerings is reviewed. The findings of 35 event studies, which include 84 sub-samples and 6310 announcements, are analysed using meta-analysis. We find a mean cumulative abnormal return of?1.14% for convertibles compared with?0.02% for warrant bonds, the significant difference confirming a relative advantage for warrant bonds. Abnormal returns for hybrid securities issued in the USA are significantly more negative than those issued in other countries. In addition, issuing hybrid securities to refund debt does not seem to be favoured by investors. Finally, several factors identified as important by theory or in prior research are not significant within our cross-study models, suggesting that more evidence is needed to confirm whether they are robust.     

Determinants of Capital Flight: An econometric case study of Bangladesh

While Bangladesh remains steeped in staggering external debt, it is also concurrently witnessing a substantial outflow of domestic capital. This situation raises serious policy concerns for its development prospects. This paper applies the Bounds testing and the Autoregressive Distributed Lag procedures to confirm the existence of a long-run equilibrium relationship between capital flight and its determinants, and to estimate the long-run and short-run behavior of capital flight from Bangladesh. The estimated results suggest that political instability is the single most significant cause of capital flight from Bangladesh, while increases in corporate income taxes, higher real interest rate differentials between the capital-haven countries and Bangladesh, and lower GDP growth rates also significantly contribute to capital flight.     

Can financial literacy reduce anxiety about life in old age?

This study examines the role of financial literacy in reducing anxiety about life in old age. We hypothesize that financial literacy increases preparedness for old age through better savings and investment decisions, leading to the accumulation of more assets and earning more income, which enhances financial capacity and reduces anxiety. Using data from a nationwide panel survey in Japan, we provide evidence that financial literacy can reduce anxiety about life in old age by making people capable of accumulating more assets and earning more income. Moreover, the interaction of financial literacy with age and spouse reduces anxiety, while living with children increases anxiety about life during old age. We check the robustness of our results using an alternative measure of financial literacy, changing composition of the sample, controlling for residents’ geographical dispersion, and testing for endogeneity bias. The major findings remain unchanged after considering these factors.     

The Impact of Social Influence on Individuals' Adoption of Innovation

This article empirically examines the impact of social factors (peer and social network) on attitudes toward innovation and the impact of that attitude on individual employees adopting innovation in their workplaces in Australia. This research uses quantitative research methodology and specifically multivariate statistical analysis. The research framework is based on the theory of reasoned action, the technology acceptance model, Frambach and Schillewaert's conceptual framework, and the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology. Data were collected from employees of a tertiary institution in Australia using a structured questionnaire. The results of multiple regression analysis show that social network impacts significantly on attitudes toward an innovation which, in turn, affects the innovation adoption behavior of employees. Furthermore, social network has been found to directly influence the innovation adoption process. This outcome has strategic implications for organizations in the effective management of innovation involving employees. These implications are highlighted in the article. This research has focused on only one organization in a particular region in Australia. Future research can explore the relationship between variables by including a number of organizations across Australia and beyond to provide a deeper insight into the issues explored in this article.     

Relevant or redundant: Elite consumers' perception of foreign-made products in an emerging market

Abstract

This paper examines the attitudes of elite Pakistani consumers concerning their preferences for foreign-made products and how these preferences influence purchasing decisions. Data were collected from a sample of 250 buyers using a mixed methodology consisting of focus groups and a questionnaire survey. The results show a link between the country of origin (COO) of products and purchasing decisions. The nature and extent of this link vary across product class and purchasing decisions. A means-end chain (MEC) analysis revealed a close link between consumers' liking for foreign products connected with how they valued those products both psychologically and physiologically. The findings have implications for attaining a competitive advantage by using marketing strategies to target elite customers. As a pioneering study, this paper advances the theoretical knowledge, providing a framework as well as specific guidelines for practitioners to conceptualise the COO construct. The paper also suggests a strategic direction that successfully targets the elite consumer segment in Pakistan.